Today, Saturday, the Iranian Revolutionary Guards warned the European Union against making a “mistake” to include it in the blacklist of “terrorist” organizations, after the European Parliament called for sanctions against it.
The commander of the Guard, Major General Hussein Salami, said that the Europeans should “bear the consequences if they make a mistake,” in statements reported by the local press, the first since the European Parliament’s decision.
The European Parliament’s decision came at a time of growing tension between Tehran and Brussels, against the background of the protests taking place in Iran, and the Westerners accusing Tehran of providing Russia with drones that it used against Ukraine.
On Thursday, Parliament asked the European Union to include the Guards on the blacklist of “terrorist organizations”, and the text, approved by European deputies, called for banning “any economic or financial activity” with the Revolutionary Guards through companies or institutions that may be linked to it.
But EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell commented on the European Parliament’s decision, saying, “Although the European Parliament is a completely independent institution, this decision lacks executive capacity, and only reflects Europe’s concerns.”
Unconsidered behaviour
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian had described the European Parliament’s call to include the Iranian Revolutionary Guards on the list of terrorist organizations as “unprofessional and ill-conceived behaviour.”
The United States had previously included the Guard on the list of “terrorist” organizations in 2019, and in Europe, this complex legal procedure belongs to the European Council, which is the only one authorized to apply sanctions, and a number of member states supported the text, while others seemed more cautious.
The next meeting of foreign ministers, on January 23, will discuss imposing a fourth package of sanctions on Iran against the backdrop of “suppressing” the protests that followed the death of the young woman, Mahsa Amini, after she was arrested by the morality police, and Iran’s support for Russia in the field of military equipment.
The Revolutionary Guard was established shortly after the victory of the Iranian revolution in 1979, and it is under the command of the Supreme Leader of the Republic, Ali Khamenei.
The Guard is part of the Iranian armed forces, but it has specialized land, sea and air-space forces.
