Tehran, Iran Senior Iranian officials and commanders have harshly condemned the European Parliament’s passage of a resolution urging the bloc to take into consideration branding the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a “terrorist.”
A resolution urging the European Union to label Iran’s elite force and its allies, including the paramilitary Basij and the Quds Force, as “terrorist” groups was overwhelmingly passed by the European Parliament on Thursday.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, President Ebrahim Raisi, and all other IRGC officials and affiliated foundations were recommended for sanctions, along with the government’s response to the protests that have been occurring in Iran since September, any executions related to the protests, and drone sales to Russia.
The resolution is not required to be implemented by the EU.
Although the resolution has the support of senior EU officials, the bloc is not anticipated to endorse it when it decides on new penalties against dozens of Iranian individuals and businesses on Monday. Tehran’s response to the measure on Thursday ranged from defiance to stern warnings about the implications for Europe.
Early on Saturday, Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and IRGC Commander-in-Chief Hossein Salami convened to plan a potential reaction.
On Sunday, it’s also anticipated that the State Department, the IRGC, and lawmakers would meet in private.
Without the IRGC’s efforts, particularly those of the Quds Force and the hero Soleimani, the Americans’ terrorist volcano would have swallowed the Europeans and the rest of the world.
During a phone call on Thursday, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian told EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell the move was “like Europe shooting itself in the foot”.
Several of the statements released by Iranian bodies and officials say the IRGC’s appointment signals “desperation” on the part of European politicians after they failed to achieve their goals during the “unrest” in Iran.
This is consistent with repeated stances by the Iranian authorities that the West was behind the protests aimed at destabilizing Iran, a claim that has been denied.
Meanwhile, talks with world powers on restoring the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, which the US unilaterally abandoned in 2018, also remain in limbo.
European politicians continue to see the nuclear deal as the only viable remaining option to stem Iran’s nuclear program, and the European Parliament also earlier this week voted against a motion to declare the talks over.
