European Union foreign ministers agreed to add Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to the bloc’s list of terrorist organizations, marking a major escalation in Brussels’ response to Tehran’s crackdown on protesters.
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas confirmed the decision in a post on the X social media platform on Thursday (29 January).
“EU foreign ministers have just taken the decisive step of designating Iran’s Revolutionary Guards as a terrorist organization. Any regime that kills thousands of its own people is seeking its own demise,” Kallas said.
New EU sanctions have been announced
Alongside the appointments, EU foreign ministers adopted a new round of sanctions targeting individuals and entities linked to Iran’s crackdown on protests and Iran’s support for Russia, EU diplomats said.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said the sanctions cover members of Iran’s government, judiciary, police and IRGC, as well as entities responsible for Internet censorship.
Crackdown fuels momentum
The move follows a brutal nationwide crackdown on protests earlier this month that left thousands dead and sharply increased pressure within the EU to act.
While some member states have previously pushed for the IRGC to be listed, others have been cautious, warning that the move could undermine diplomatic relations with Tehran and put European citizens in Iran at risk. France and Italy, which previously resisted the designation, threw their weight behind this week.
“It is important that we send a signal that the bloodshed that we have seen, the bestiality of the violence that has been used against the protesters, cannot be tolerated,” said Dutch Foreign Minister David van Weel.
Diplomatic channels will remain open
Despite fears in some EU capitals that the designation could trigger a complete breakdown in relations with Iran, Kallas said diplomatic contacts would continue.
“The estimate is that diplomatic channels will remain open even after the Revolutionary Guards are listed,” she told reporters.
What is the IRGC?
Formed after Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution to protect the Shiite clerical system, the IRGC is the Islamic Republic’s ideological military force tasked with defending the regime from internal and external threats.
The Guards wield enormous influence, controlling large parts of Iran’s economy and armed forces and overseeing the country’s ballistic missile and nuclear programs. Known domestically as Pasdaran or Sepah, the organization’s reach runs deep into Iranian political and social life.
The IRGC is currently headed by General Mohammad Pakpour, appointed by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei after his predecessor Hossein Salami was killed in an Israeli strike during the June 2025 12-Day War.
Human rights groups accuse the IRGC of abuses
Western governments and human rights organizations accuse the IRGC of militancy abroad and systematic rights abuses at home.
Amnesty International said this week that its evidence showed the IRGC and its Basij volunteer paramilitary force were involved in deadly repression against protesters.
“The intolerable suppression of the peaceful uprising of the Iranian people cannot go unanswered,” Barrot said as he confirmed France’s support for the designation.
Protests and death toll
Iran’s latest wave of protests erupted on December 28 after the currency plummeted before spreading across the country in what activists say is the strongest challenge to the Islamic republic since its founding.
The ensuing crackdown killed nearly 6,000 civilians, according to the US-based Human Rights Activists Network.
