Where is the EU? Refuses to Designate Iran's Brutal Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps a Terrorist Organization

The extreme violence used by the mullahs' regime to crush the protests in Iran confirms that external support is required to free the Iranian people from the regime's tyranny.

Unarmed civilians confronting armed and indoctrinated militiamen and soldiers of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) can only result in a bloodbath. Through the massacre carried out on January 8-9, the mullahs' regime has demonstrated that it acts more like an occupying power. Iran is a country that needs to be liberated, and the Iranian people need the support of the international community.

The European Union has still not designated the IRGC as a terrorist organization. This requires a unanimous decision within the Foreign Affairs Council, a decision-making body of the EU, chaired by the EU's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaja Kallas. Countries such as France, Italy, Spain, and Luxembourg are still blocking such a terrorist designation, despite the fact that tens of thousands of Iranians have been murdered this month. As of this writing, the number of killed by the regime is estimated at 36,500, with 330,000-360,000 wounded, including 7,000 eye injuries documented from one hospital alone. This says a great deal about the gap between words and actions among certain European leaders. There is much talk about values, but little is done to uphold them.

It is highly remarkable that the EU has not designated the IRGC as a terrorist organization. Several national parliaments within the EU have supported the proposal to designate the IRGC as a terrorist organization, including those of Sweden, France, and the Netherlands. The European Parliament has also adopted such a position. There is therefore strong political support for designating the IRGC as a terrorist organization, yet for some reason the EU has not moved forward on the matter.

"There have been far too many European politicians maintaining close relationships with Iran's regime".

Even if the EU were not to stand up for human rights in Iran, one would expect the EU to stand up for its own security. In 2024, the Swedish Security Service stated on its website that the Iranian regime uses criminal networks in Sweden to carry out violent acts against groups, individuals and institutions in Sweden that are perceived as threats. According to the Swedish Security Service, in recent years it has handled several concrete cases in which planned attacks linked to Iranian intelligence services were thwarted, including cases where criminal networks were used as proxies. In recent years, the IRGC has been linked to various terrorist activities within the EU.

Iran's regime is an enemy of the United States, Israel, and the Iranian people. It is high time that American policymakers seek to determine why certain European countries consistently block the designation of the IRGC as a terrorist organization, despite the fact that the IRGC murders the Iranian people and poses a threat to the United States, Israel, and EU member states. If this is a matter of economic interests, then it would be appropriate for those European politicians whose financial interests are linked to the Iranian regime to be exposed. If it is a matter of political alignment, then it would be appropriate to reveal which European politicians are acting on behalf of Iran's regime.

Unfortunately, there have been far too many European politicians maintaining close relationships with Iran's regime. Among these politicians, there has been a belief that so-called "reformists" within the Islamic Republic would transform the mullahs' regime into something different. It has become clear that this was a false hope. The Iranian people have waited for these "reforms" since the late 1990s, when then President Muhammad Khatami won the "election" in Iran. That wait has been rewarded with a massacre in which tens of thousands of innocent people have been murdered.

The EU must also decide once and for all whether it merely wants to talk about Western values and human rights or actually stand up for them when it truly matters: Now. The Iranian people have risen up against a barbaric regime that represents everything the EU should oppose. Israel and the United States stand ready to help. Where is the EU?

© Gatestone Institute