Diplomatic Initiative Follows Deadly Crackdown on Protests
Italy will formally propose that the European Union add Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to its list of terrorist organizations during a meeting of foreign ministers in Brussels this Thursday. Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani announced the initiative on Monday, stating it comes in response to significant civilian casualties during recent protests in Iran.
“The losses suffered by the civilian population during the protests demand a clear response,” Tajani declared on social media platform X. He emphasized the proposal would be made “in coordination with other partners” and would include additional individual sanctions against those responsible for “these heinous acts.”
Mounting Civilian Toll and International Pressure
The push for tougher measures follows reports from the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), which confirmed nearly 6,000 deaths and is investigating thousands more cases related to the protest movement that shook Iran earlier this month before being violently suppressed.
The IRGC, the ideological arm of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, is an extensively organized military force. Western nations accuse it of orchestrating and participating in the crackdown on widespread dissent in Iran. Established shortly after the 1979 Islamic Revolution, the Guards possess vast intelligence networks and land, air, and naval capabilities, often surpassing the regular army in equipment and training.
Existing Sanctions and the Path to a Terrorist Designation
The Revolutionary Guards are already subject to EU sanctions imposed in 2021 over human rights violations. To date, the bloc has sanctioned approximately 230 individuals and around 40 entities related to Iran’s human rights record, nuclear activities, and support for Russia’s war in Ukraine.
These measures include asset freezes, travel bans within the EU, arms embargoes, and restrictions on trade in oil, gas, and petrochemical products. Last week, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced plans to further ban exports of critical drone and missile technology.
However, designating the IRGC as a terrorist organization requires unanimous approval from all EU member states. A senior European official confirmed last Friday that the proposal is on this week’s agenda but cautioned, “we are not there yet,” indicating the diplomatic hurdles ahead.
International Context and Precedents
The Italian initiative aligns with growing international pressure. Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar stated on January 11 that “the time has come for the EU to designate the Iranian Revolutionary Guards as a terrorist organization.” The United States took this step in 2019, listing the IRGC as a Foreign Terrorist Organization.
Beyond its domestic role, the IRGC serves as Tehran’s primary link to regional allies like Lebanon’s Hezbollah and armed groups in Iraq. It also controls numerous companies across strategic sectors of Iran’s economy, complicating any potential sanctions regime.
The upcoming Brussels meeting will test European unity on adopting one of the strongest available diplomatic tools against Iran’s most powerful security institution.
