European Union designates Iran’s IRGC as terrorist organisation, citing mass killings of civilians

European Union foreign ministers have agreed to add Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to the bloc’s list of terrorist organisations, marking a major escalation in Brussels’ response to Tehran’s violent crackdown on protesters.

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas confirmed the decision on Thursday (January 29) in a post on social media platform X.

“EU Foreign Ministers just took the decisive step of designating Iran’s Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist organisation. Any regime that kills thousands of its own people is working toward its own demise,” Kallas said.

New EU sanctions announced

Alongside the designation, EU foreign ministers adopted a fresh round of sanctions targeting individuals and entities linked to the repression of 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 the 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, sharply increasing pressure within the EU to act.

While some member states had previously pushed to list the IRGC, others were cautious, warning the move could undermine diplomatic engagement with Tehran and endanger European citizens in Iran. France and Italy, which had earlier resisted the designation, threw their weight behind it this week.

“It’s important that we send this signal that the bloodshed that we’ve seen, the bestiality of the violence that’s been used against protesters, cannot be tolerated,” Dutch Foreign Minister David van Weel said.

Diplomatic channels to remain open

Despite concerns 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 still the diplomatic channels will remain open, even after the listing of the Revolutionary Guards,” she told reporters.

What is IRGC?

Formed after Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution to protect the Shi’ite 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 programmes. Known domestically as the Pasdaran or Sepah, the organisation’s reach extends deep into Iran’s political and social life.

The IRGC is currently led by General Mohammad Pakpour, appointed by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei after his predecessor, Hossein Salami, was killed in an Israeli strike during the 12-day war in June 2025.

Rights groups accuse IRGC of abuses

Western governments and human rights organisations accuse the IRGC of militant activity abroad and systematic rights violations at home.

Amnesty International said this week that its evidence showed the IRGC and its volunteer paramilitary force, the Basij, were involved in the deadly repression of protesters.

“The intolerable repression of the peaceful uprising of the Iranian people cannot go unanswered,” Barrot said as he confirmed France’s backing for the designation.

Protests and death toll

Iran’s latest wave of protests erupted on December 28 after a sharp fall in the value of the currency, before spreading nationwide into what activists describe as the strongest challenge to the Islamic Republic since its founding.

According to the US-based Human Rights Activists Network, the subsequent crackdown has killed nearly 6,000 civilians.

Iran FM Araghchi says Europe is ‘fanning the flames’

Iran’s foreign minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi has sharply criticised the European Union after it moved to designate Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organisation, accusing Europe of “fanning the flames” of conflict in the Middle East.

In a post on social media platform X, Araghchi said European governments were taking steps that risked escalating regional tensions rather than preventing a wider war.

“Several countries are presently attempting to avert the eruption of all-out war in our region. None of them are European,” Araghchi wrote, arguing that Europe had failed to play a constructive diplomatic role at a critical moment.

Instead, he accused the EU of acting at Washington’s behest, referring to European support for the possible “snapback” of UN sanctions on Iran and the decision to label the IRGC a terrorist organisation.

“Europe is instead busy fanning the flames,” Araghchi said, calling the IRGC designation “another major strategic mistake” and rejecting the characterisation of Iran’s national military force as a terrorist group.

He described the move as a political gesture rather than a serious policy shift, saying it was designed to mask Europe’s declining global influence.

Araghchi also accused European governments of hypocrisy, contrasting their actions against Iran with what he described as inaction over Israel’s military campaign in Gaza.

“Taking zero action in response to Israel’s genocide in Gaza and yet rushing to ‘defend human rights’ in Iran,” he said, showed what he called “selective outrage” by European leaders.