IRGC on terrorist list, Europe's decisive turn and the Islamic Republic's sharp reaction

The European Union placed the Revolutionary Guard Corps on the terror list and, with Tehran's threatening response, pushed the rift between the Islamic Republic and Europe to an unprecedented level.

The European Union's decision to list the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organization is a turning point in the tense relations between Brussels and Tehran; a decision that not only prompted an immediate and threatening reaction from the Islamic Republic's military institutions, but also indicates a serious change in Europe's approach to the power structure in Iran.

In response to this action, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic announced: "The dangerous consequences of this provocative decision are the responsibility of European policymakers. The armed forces, especially the IRGC, will increase their defense capabilities day by day."

The institution also fully defended the IRGC, adding: "The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has always been a legal, powerful institution and at the forefront of the fight against America and Israel."

According to the announcement of the foreign ministers of the European Union member states, the Revolutionary Guard Corps has been placed on the EU's list of terrorist organizations, alongside groups such as ISIS and Al-Qaeda; a move that observers see as Europe's departure from years of caution and consideration towards the Islamic Republic.

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said in a statement: "At the political level, the necessary agreement to designate the Revolutionary Guards as terrorists has been reached and completed, and now only the technical process remains."

These remarks show that, at least at the political level, the previous opposition of some European governments has been set aside and a common will has been formed to deal with the military-security arm of the Islamic Republic.

In line with these developments, the European Union's foreign policy chief, Kaya Kalas, wrote on the X social network on Thursday, January 29, equivalent to 9 Bahman: "Repression cannot go unanswered. Any regime that kills thousands of its own people is, in fact, walking on the path to its own destruction."

With this stance, he explicitly linked the European Union's decision to the bloody suppression of protests in Iran, a repression that, according to European officials, could no longer be ignored.

In this regard, Dutch Foreign Minister David Van Weel said: "It is important to send the message that the bloodshed we have witnessed and the brutality of the violence used against the protesters cannot be tolerated."

France and Italy, which had previously hesitated to designate the IRGC as a terrorist organization, officially declared their support this week. The shift in position, especially in Paris, is seen by analysts as a sign of the high political and moral costs of continuing to appease Tehran.

In contrast, Abbas Araqchi, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic, wrote on the social network X in response to this decision: “Europe is busy fanning the flames of the crisis.” He also added: “The European Union has committed another major strategic mistake by placing the armed forces on the list of terrorist organizations.”

The Revolutionary Guard Corps was formed after the 1979 revolution to protect the new political system, but over the decades it has grown into an institution with widespread influence over Iran's economy, politics, internal security, and missile and nuclear programs. Many large companies, construction projects, and parts of Iran's energy industry are directly or indirectly controlled by the Corps.

This multi-layered role, from the European Union's perspective, has taken the IRGC beyond a mere military force and transformed it into an actor that plays an active role in domestic repression, regional destabilization, and a threat to international security.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen welcomed the decision, writing on X-Net: “This action should have been taken a long time ago.” She also emphasized: “Terrorism is precisely the word used for a regime that oppresses its own people.” She added: “Europe stands with the Iranian people in their courageous fight for freedom.”

Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoop also wrote: "Good news from Brussels today: The European Union has agreed to list the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organization. Today, Europe is giving a united and decisive response to the bloody repression of peaceful protests in Iran."

While the US, Canada and Australia have already designated the IRGC a terrorist organisation, Britain has yet to make such a decision. However, pressure is mounting in London.

Conservative MP Bob Blackman welcomed the EU move and urged Keir Starmer's government to stop procrastinating and sanction the IRGC. Earlier, Richard Moore, head of Britain's foreign intelligence agency (MI6), had warned that "Russia, China, Iran and Islamist terrorism are the most significant threats facing the West."

British security sources have also announced that the Islamic Republic's footprint in terrorist threats is evident on the country's soil, an issue that could lead London to follow Brussels' path.

The inclusion of the Revolutionary Guard Corps on the European Union's list of terrorist organizations is not a symbolic act, but rather a political, legal, and security message to Tehran: "The era of tolerance is coming to an end."

The sharp reaction of the Islamic Republic's military institutions and the open defense of the IRGC, along with the widespread support of European officials for the Iranian people, shows that the rift between the two sides has entered a new and tense phase; a phase whose consequences could go beyond diplomatic relations.