Following years of repeated resolutions adopted by the European Parliament, and persistent calls from the United States and other allies for decisive action, the European Council finally has an opportunity to designate Iran’s brutal Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organization.
Until recently, reports indicated that Italy, Spain, Luxembourg, and France were among those opposing the designation, which requires unanimous agreement among the European Union’s (EU) 27 member states.
But in the wake of Iran’s brutal crackdown on peaceful protestors, resistance to the decision is eroding in Brussels. Italy’s Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani announced on Monday that Rome would no longer oppose the designation and would propose designating the IRGC at Thursday’s European Council meeting. On Wednesday, Spain announced it, too, would support designation. Luxembourg lifted its opposition weeks ago. France has also reversed course and is now reportedly supporting the move.
The IRGC’s Bloody Record
The IRGC is not a conventional military force, but an extremist organization embedded within a regime that maintains power through violence, repression, and global terrorism.
Since the 1979 revolution, the IRGC has functioned as the central pillar of repression inside Iran and the primary engine of instability beyond its borders.
The IRGC oversees Iran’s ruthless Basij paramilitary force, an arm of the regime that has played a key role in violent crackdowns against protestors for years. Over the last several weeks, Basij forces slaughtered civilians in the streets while they were advocating peacefully for basic human rights and economic relief. In the regime’s deadliest crackdown to date, current reports suggest nearly 40,000 Iranians were killed in a 48-hour period, confirming human rights groups’ worst fears that the number of dead was much higher than initially reported. The regime’s widespread internet blackouts continue to restrict access to information.
Abroad, the IRGC is responsible for providing drones to Russia and directing a network of armed proxies that stretches across the Middle East and is responsible for killing civilians far beyond Iran’s borders. The IRGC’s Quds Force arms and directs Hezbollah, Hamas, and the Houthis, whose attacks have killed American servicemembers and Israeli civilians and disrupted global shipping in the Red Sea.
Holdouts Changing Course
The European Parliament has repeatedly called for the formal designation of the IRGC since 2023, but the European Council has not agreed to it.
The obstacle to designating has been the requirement for unanimous agreement—a barrier upheld by a small group of holdouts. New stances in support of the designation from Italy, Spain, and Luxembourg signal positive movement, with even France no longer appearing to be a holdout.
Europe should act decisively by proceeding with the designation.
If adopted, the designation of the IRGC would rightly place it alongside groups like ISIL/Da’esh, al-Qaeda, Hamas, and Palestinian Islamic Jihad on the EU’s terrorist list. The designation would align Europe with the United States, Canada, and other allies such as Australia. These countries have already recognized the IRGC for what it is: the violent arm of Iran’s regime, responsible for mass killings of Iranian citizens at home and for directing, financing, and arming a global network of proxy militias and terrorist operations abroad.
Designation would also close enforcement gaps targeting the IRGC, freeze its assets, and empower law enforcement agencies to dismantle IRGC-linked networks operating within their borders. IRGC operatives and officials should be given no safe havens in Europe.
The United Kingdom, no longer part of the EU, should nonetheless join it in proscribing the IRGC under its own domestic authorities. London has continued to drag its feet, despite publicly acknowledging that the organization is a national security threat.
The Time for Inaction is Over
Members of Congress from both parties have been vocal in pressing European allies to act. Representative Claudia Tenney introduced a resolution calling on Europe and the UK to designate the IRGC as a terrorist organization. Congressional efforts have sought to hold Iran accountable and bring U.S. allies into alignment with American policy.
This moment demands solidarity with the Iranian people and action to safeguard national security on both sides of the Atlantic. While precise death tolls will take time to verify, it’s already clear that the IRGC is complicit in the murder of thousands of innocent Iranians. Designation as a terrorist organization is a critical step toward accountability.