Iran Warns It May Label EU Armed Forces ‘Terrorists’ After IRGC Blacklisting

Iran on Friday warned it could designate the armed forces of European Union member states as “terrorist organisations” after the bloc added Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to its terror blacklist.

In a post on X, senior Iranian official Ali Larijani said that under a resolution passed by Iran’s Islamic Consultative Assembly, the armies of countries backing the EU’s decision would themselves be considered terrorist entities.

“The European Union is fully aware that, in accordance with the resolution of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, the armed forces of countries that participated in the EU’s recent resolution against the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps are regarded as terrorist organisations,” Larijani wrote. “The consequences of this decision will therefore be borne by the European countries that took such action.”

The warning came a day after EU foreign ministers agreed to place the IRGC on the bloc’s list of terrorist organisations. European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas confirmed the decision on X, describing it as a “decisive step” and saying regimes responsible for killing thousands of their own people must be treated as terrorists.

The EU said the designation, which applies across all 27 member states, is largely symbolic but places the IRGC on the same footing as groups such as al-Qaida, Hamas and the Islamic State.

The move follows months of nationwide protests in Iran over economic conditions and government policies. Activists say at least 6,479 people were killed during a violent crackdown by security forces.

The United States and Canada have already designated the IRGC as a terrorist organisation.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi dismissed the EU’s decision as a “PR stunt,” warning that Europe could face consequences, including higher energy prices. “Several countries are currently trying to prevent the outbreak of a full-scale war in our region,” he wrote on X. “None of them are European.”