Iran Labels EU Naval, Air Forces as Terrorist Groups

After the European Union added the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) to its list of terrorist groups, Iran designated the air and naval forces of all EU members as “terrorist organizations.”

The “reciprocal” action follows the EU member states’ “unlawful and unjustified” decision to designate a portion of the Islamic Republic’s Armed Forces, Iran’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Saturday.

It further stated that in violation of the core tenets and regulations of the UN Charter as well as international law, the IRGC, which is acknowledged as one of the cornerstones of Iran’s Armed Forces, has been classified as a terrorist group by EU member states.

The statement underlined that the Iranian government must respond with proportionate legal actions because of the concept of reciprocal action and parliamentary law.

The ministry was citing Article VII of a statute pertaining to reciprocal actions in reaction to the US designation of the IRGC that was passed by the Iranian Parliament in April 2019.

The clause states that reciprocal action will be taken against any nations that support or adhere to the United States’ decision to classify the IRGCs as terrorist organizations.

Following Iran’s actions against foreign-backed rioters who wreaked havoc around the country at the request of a monarchist and the public instigation of US and Israeli leaders in late December and early January, the European Union placed the IRGC on its terrorist list.

On January 8 and 9, armed rioters and terrorists with foreign support took control of peaceful, intermittent demonstrations over economic problems and transformed them into murder scenes, damaging both public and private property, and setting mosques, clinics, ambulances, and commuter buses on fire.

Iranian officials have acknowledged that American and Israeli espionage services were actively involved, giving armed terrorists and rioters operating in the streets money, training, and media assistance.

After reaching a political agreement on January 29, the EU Foreign Affairs Council officially added the IRGC to the bloc’s terrorist list on Thursday.

The EU’s counterterrorism sanctions framework will also impose restrictive restrictions on the IRGC. This includes prohibiting EU operators from providing cash and economic resources to the group and freezing its monies and other financial assets or resources in EU member states.

The so-called EU terrorism list now has 23 organizations and businesses and 13 individuals subject to restrictive restrictions.