Iran takes tough decision against 27 European armed forces

Iran takes tough action against the EU.

The European Union (EU) has declared Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) a 'terrorist organization'. In response to this decision, Iran has also listed the armed forces of 27 EU member states as 'terrorist groups'.

On Sunday (February 1), Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Ghalibaf said, 'This decision has been taken under Article 7 of the law on countermeasures against the designation of the IRGC as a terrorist organization.'

Ghalibaf said, 'The Europeans have effectively shot themselves in the foot. They have once again shown blind loyalty to America and made decisions against the interests of their own people.'

Earlier, EU Foreign Policy Chief Kaza Kalas announced the listing of the IRGC as a terrorist organization on Thursday (January 29). He said the agency took the step in response to the “repression” of protesters in Iran earlier this month. “Any regime that kills thousands of its own people is heading towards collapse,” he wrote on social media.

Iranian authorities have not officially released a number of arrests, but have said at least 3,117 people have been killed during the protests. Of those killed, 2,427 were described as “innocent” protesters or members of the security forces. At the peak of the protests, Iran shut down the internet and mobile communications across the country on the night of January 8.

Incidentally, the IRGC is a branch of Iran’s military, established after the 1979 Iranian revolution. Working alongside the regular armed forces, this force is directly accountable to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The IRGC plays a central role in Iran’s defense, foreign operations and regional influence.

Al Jazeera reported.