In official letter, US lawmakers urge EU to Include Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps on terrorist group list

WASHINGTON, D.C. — One hundred and thirty members of the US Congress have sent an official letter to High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell demanding the European Union include Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in its official list of terrorist groups.

In the letter, the US legislators said Iran is “a leading state sponsor of terror” and that for decades the IRGC “has freely and openly carried out plots targeting citizens in countries across the EU.”

“We understand the legal complexities involved in designating the IRGC as a terrorist organization pursuant to EU law Common Position 931, and fully appreciate the need for this decision to be adjudicated by either a judicial or ‘equivalent competent authority,” the lawmakers said. “But given the growing threat Iran poses to EU member states and their citizens, we urge you to treat this issue with the utmost urgency.”

The lawmakers consider the military cooperation between Iran and Russia as justification for labeling the IRGC a terrorist entity.

The European Parliament voted in January on a resolution stipulating the inclusion of “the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and its affiliated organizations on the European list of terrorist organizations.”

In response, Borrell stated that a court decision is required for the IRGC to be included on the list of terrorist groups.

Meanwhile, European diplomacy is seeking to maintain balanced contacts with Iran to make progress on the difficult task of negotiating the nuclear agreement. The American and European rationale for including the IRGC on the terror list is based on two factors: the war in Ukraine and internal protests in Iran.

Tehran has warned the EU against taking this step by threatening to suspend its membership in the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), also known as the Iran Nuclear Deal, which could escalate nuclear production in the region, and by threatening to double its uranium enrichment capacity. The United States withdrew from the JCPOA in 2018 under former President Trump after former President Obama successfully negotiated the landmark agreement in 2016.