European Union Agree New Sanctions Against Iran, But Not Add Revolutionary Guards To Terrorist List

Illustration of the European Union. (Wikimedia Commons/Thijs ter Haar)

JAKARTA - The European Union on Monday imposed new sanctions on Iran for its brutal crackdown on protesters, even though the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) have not been added to its terrorist list.

Relations between the 27-nation European Union and Tehran, which soured during stalled efforts to revive talks on the 2015 Nuclear Deal, have worsened as Iran has moved to detain several European nationals.

The bloc has also become increasingly critical of the continued violent treatment of domestic protesters, including the execution of protesters and the sending of Iranian drones to Russia.

Sweden, which currently holds the rotating presidency of the European Union, said a meeting of the bloc's foreign ministers in Brussels, Belgium on Monday "adopted a new package of sanctions against Iran, targeting those who encourage repression."

"The European Union strongly condemns the Iranian authorities' use of brutal and disproportionate force against peaceful protesters," Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom said, according to a post on Twitter by the country's European Union diplomatic mission.

European Union diplomats told Reuters last week the bloc planned to add 37 names to a blacklist of Iranian persons and entities barred from travel to Europe, subject to an asset freeze.

Previously, the European Parliament had asked the European Union to go further and list the IRGC as a terrorist entity, blaming it for the crackdown on protests now in its fourth month, as well as the supply of drones for Russia's war against Ukraine.

"The Iranian regime, the Revolutionary Guards are terrorizing their own population day after day," German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock told Monday's meeting.

However, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said a court decision with concrete legal condemnation must first be handed down in a member state, before the European Union itself can implement such a determination.

"It's something that can't be decided without a trial... a preliminary decision. You can't say I consider you a terrorist because I don't like you," Borrell told reporters on the sidelines of the Brussels talks.

The ministers met at the political center of the European Union where thousands of people took to the streets the day before to protest against the Iranian detention of Belgian aid worker Olivier Vandecasteele.

It is known, the IRGC was established shortly after the 1979 Islamic Revolution to protect the Shia clerical government system. It has an estimated 125,000 strong military with ground, sea and air force units, and commands the Basij religious militia which is frequently used in crackdowns.