The European Parliament’s recent approval of a resolution calling for the EU to recognize Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a “terrorist” organization has been met with strong backlash from Iranian officials and commanders.
The resolution, which passed overwhelmingly on Thursday, also calls for sanctions against Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, President Ebrahim Raisi, and all IRGC-linked foundations. Additionally, it condemned the Iranian government’s response to recent protests and the executions linked to them, as well as drone sales to Russia.
Despite the resolution, the EU is not obligated to enforce it, and it is not expected to be included in the new sanctions against Iranian individuals and entities set to be approved by the bloc on Monday. Iran has responded with defiance and warnings of consequences for Europe.
IRGC commander-in-chief Hossein Salami met with parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf to coordinate a potential response. Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi called the resolution “against international law and the charter of the United Nations,” and a member of Iran’s parliament suggested that it would reciprocate against the European Parliament.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani also responded on Twitter, describing the IRGC as “the biggest anti-terrorism organization in the world,” and accusing Israel, the UK, and the US of being the “world’s largest organized terror entity” and its “greatest sponsor.”
The US has also blacklisted the IRGC.
The resolution has been seen as a sign of “desperation” by European politicians, according to Iranian officials, who have repeatedly claimed that the West is behind the protests aiming to destabilize Iran, a claim that has been denied.
Meanwhile, talks to restore the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers that the US withdrew from in 2018, remain in a deadlock.