Iran has warned that it will respond “in kind” if the European Union designates Iran’s Revolutionary Guards as a terrorist group.
The Iranian Foreign Minister, Hossein Amir Abdollahian, said that there are plans to place elements of the armies of European countries on the list of terrorism in Iran.
“The (Iranian) parliament is working to put members of the armies of European countries on the terrorist list,” Abdullahian added on Twitter.
Last Wednesday, the European Parliament voted to include the Revolutionary Guards on the European Union’s terrorism list due to its suppression of demonstrators and its supply of drones to Russia.
The Revolutionary Guards oversee the paramilitary Basij militia, which has been used to quell anti-government protests sparked by the death in custody of Mahsa Amini last September.
Although the European Parliament’s vote is not binding on its countries, it comes with the meeting of European Union foreign ministers, who are scheduled to actually discuss tightening sanctions against the Islamic Republic within days.
Amir Abdollahian and the head of the Revolutionary Guards, Major General Hossein Salami, attended a closed session in the Iranian Parliament, on Sunday morning, to discuss the European Parliament’s move.
“The European Parliament shot itself,” Abdollahian said on Twitter, adding that the response would be “reciprocated”.
On Sunday, Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf announced that the legislature would “immediately and decisively retaliate against any action that might mean placing the Revolutionary Guards on the sanctions list or the list of terrorist groups.”
Qalibaf, who previously served as commander of the Revolutionary Guards’ air force, added that parliament “will consider the armies of European countries… terrorist groups.”
The Revolutionary Guards oversee the Basij forces, which were deployed in the face of protests sparked by the killing of Amini, 22, after she was arrested for allegedly violating the dress code for women.
The Iranian authorities acknowledged killing and arresting hundreds of people in the demonstrations, but said that members of the security forces were also killed by demonstrators.
The Revolutionary Guard was formed shortly after the Islamic Revolution in 1979. It reports directly to Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The Corps has its own land, sea and air forces.
The United States has already included both the Revolutionary Guards and its foreign arm, the Quds Force, on its list of “foreign terrorist organizations”.
