EU adds Iran’s Revolutionary Guard to terrorist list, freezing assets across Europe

The European Union has formally designated Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organisation, the Council of the European Union announced on February 19.

The move, following a political agreement reached by the EU Foreign Affairs Council on January 29, places the IRGC under the EU’s counterterrorism sanctions regime.

As a result, the group’s funds, financial assets, and economic resources across EU member states are now frozen. EU operators are prohibited from providing any funds or resources to the IRGC.

“This decision reinforces the EU’s commitment to combat terrorism and prevent groups that facilitate or engage in violent acts from accessing financial and economic resources in our territory,” the Council said in a statement.

The IRGC is the latest addition to the EU’s so-called terrorist list, which now includes 13 individuals and 23 groups and entities.

The list operates under the EU’s Common Position 2001/931/CFSP and is separate from the EU sanctions targeting Al-Qaida, ISIL/Da’esh, and associated individuals under UN Security Council resolutions.

The EU also retains the authority to impose sanctions on other groups and individuals linked to violent actions, including Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

By Aghakazim Guliyev