JAKARTA - The European Union plans to designate the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist, signaling support for the designation ahead of a key meeting in Brussels, Belgium.
EU foreign ministers met in Brussels on Thursday and are scheduled to sign new sanctions in response to the crackdown on protests that have left thousands dead and thousands more arrested.
"France will support the designation of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in the EU terrorist organization list," French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said in X, launching Daily Sabah from Reuters (29/1).
With France, Italy and Germany now backing, the decision is likely to be politically approved on Thursday, although it still needs a unanimous vote from the bloc's 27 members.
Earlier on Wednesday, France hesitated to back a majority in the bloc, which had pushed to add the IRGC to the EU's list of terrorist organizations, joining the United States.
"The intolerable repression of the peaceful uprising of the Iranian people cannot be left alone. The extraordinary courage they have shown in the face of the blind violence unleashed against them must not be in vain," said Foreign Minister Barrot.
The French presidency had previously announced the decision.
The Revolutionary Guard Corps, formed after the 1979 Iranian Revolution to protect the Shiite clerical system of government, has a huge influence in the country, controlling most of the economy and the armed forces, and is tasked with managing Iran's ballistic missile and nuclear programs.
Although some EU member states have previously pushed for the IRGC to be added to the EU's terrorist list, a number of other countries, led by France, are more cautious.
They fear the move could lead to a complete break in relations with Iran, impacting diplomatic missions, and also harming negotiations to free European citizens held in Iranian prisons.
Paris is deeply concerned about the fate of two of its citizens currently living at the embassy in Tehran after being freed from prison last year.
Anti-government protests that have rocked Iran since December have triggered the bloodiest crackdown by authorities since the 1979 revolution, which drew international condemnation.
Other diplomats who supported the move said the magnitude of the crackdown meant Europe had to send a very strong political signal given the IRGC's role in the crackdown, but also its activities abroad, which they said were tantamount to terrorist activity.
"If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, then most likely it is a duck and it is good to call it," said a senior EU diplomat.
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