The European Union formally added Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to its terrorist list following a political agreement reached by the Foreign Affairs Council on 29 January.
The decision means the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps will now be subject to restrictive measures under the EU’s counter-terrorism sanctions regime.
Based on this list, funds and other financial assets of the IRGC in EU member states will be frozen. EU operators are also prohibited from providing funds or economic resources to the group.
As a result of this move, a total of 13 individuals and 23 groups and entities are now subject to sanctions under the EU’s so-called terrorist list.
A separate sanctions framework
The EU’s terrorist list differs from the bloc’s regime, which implements UN Security Council resolutions targeting extremist organizations such as al-Qaeda and Islamic State.
Brussels can also introduce autonomous restrictive measures against ISIL/Da’esh and Al-Qaeda affiliates, as well as against those who support or enable the violent actions of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad.
The addition of the IRGC marks a significant escalation in EU-Iran relations and expands the bloc’s use of counter-terrorism sanctions beyond non-state militant groups to include state-aligned military forces.
Countries designating the IRGC as a terrorist organization
A growing number of countries and regional authorities have formally designated the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a whole as a terrorist organization, reflecting growing international pressure on Tehran.
states recognizing the IRGC as a whole
The following countries have listed the entire IRGC as a terrorist organization:
United States of America, Australia, Canada, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Paraguay, Ecuador, European Union, Ukraine, European Union Member States
With the formal label EU, this measure is applied by all 27 member states:
Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden
Sweden has previously recognized the IRGC before pan-European designation.
Country indicating only Quds units
Some states designated only the IRGC’s external operational branch, the Quds Force, rather than the entire corps: