
The European Union has included the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in its list of terrorist organizations, European Union diplomacy chief Kaja Kallas announced at a press conference following a meeting of European foreign ministers.
" EU foreign ministers have just taken the decisive step of declaring Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) a terrorist organization," she wrote on social media, adding that "a regime that kills thousands of its own citizens is working for its own demise."
At the meeting, the ministers also approved new sanctions against Iran, including 15 Iranian security and justice officials and six entities.
Kallas noted that the measures are aimed at individuals and organizations involved in the brutal suppression of protests in the country, which began late last year due to citizens' dissatisfaction with the economic situation in the country.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi called the EU's decision a "major strategic mistake." "Currently, several countries are trying to prevent a full-scale war in our region. None of them are European. Europe, on the contrary, is busy fanning the flames," he wrote in X.
According to official government figures, more than 3,000 people have died during the protests. Time magazine, citing two Health Ministry officials, reported 30,000 casualties. Estimating the exact number of casualties is difficult because internet service in the country is unreliable.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps is an elite unit within the Iranian Armed Forces. Its mission is to defend the principles and achievements of the Islamic Revolution from external and internal threats.
The IRGC is already listed as a terrorist organization by the United States , Australia and Canada.
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