Monitoring Desk
BRUSSELS: The European Union (EU) cannot list Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps as a terrorist group until an EU court has determined that they are terrorists, said the bloc’s foreign policy chief on Monday.
However, EU foreign ministers are set to add 37 names to the EU’s list of people and organizations subject to sanctions over human rights violations in Iran, two European diplomats told Reuters news agency last week.
The European Parliament has asked the European Union to list Iran’s Revolutionary Guards as a terrorist entity, blaming it for the repression of domestic protests and the supply of military drones to Russia.
“It cannot be decided without a court; a court decision first decides the matter. You cannot say I consider you as a terrorist because I do not like you,” Josep Borrell told reporters as he arrived for the meeting of foreign ministers in Brussels.
EU cannot act without court ruling
He added that the court of an EU member had to issue a concrete legal condemnation before the EU itself could act.
The IRGC was formed shortly after the 1979 Islamic Revolution to protect the Shi’ite clerical ruling system and counter the regular armed forces.
It has an estimated 125,000-strong military with an army, navy, and air units. It also commands the Basij religious militia, a volunteer paramilitary force loyal to the clerical establishment, often used to crack down on anti-government protests.
Relations between EU member states and Tehran have deteriorated as efforts to revive nuclear talks have stalled. Tehran has also detained several European nationals, and the bloc has become increasingly critical of its continuing violent crackdown on protesters and the transfer of Iranian drones to Russia.
