The foreign minister announced a stark reversal of France’s stance, saying Iran’s sanctions crackdown ‘cannot go unanswered’.
France has said it supports the European Union’s push for Iran’s designation Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a “terrorist organization”, reversing earlier opposition to the move.
In a statement shared on social media on Wednesday, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot linked the planned designation to a recent crackdown by Iranian authorities on anti-government protests across the country.
Recommended stories
3 List of itemsEnd of list
“The unbearable repression of the Iranian people’s peaceful uprising cannot go unanswered. Their extraordinary courage in the face of violence against them cannot go in vain,” Barot wrote on x.
“Together with our European partners, we will take action tomorrow in Brussels against those responsible for these atrocities. They will be banned from European territory and their assets will be frozen,” he said.
“France to support designation of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps on European list of terrorist organizations.”
European Union foreign ministers are meeting in Brussels on Thursday, where they are expected to sign new sanctions against the IRGC.
The move, led by Italy, is likely to win political approval, although it needs unanimity among the bloc’s 27 member-states.
Formed after the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Iran, the IRGC is a domestic branch. Military key Direct answer to top leaders Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
It oversees Iran’s missile and nuclear programs and plays a central role in Iran’s defense as well as its foreign operations and influence in the wider region.
While some EU member states have previously pushed for the IRGC to be included on the EU’s “terrorist” list, others, led by France, have been more cautious.
They feared that such action could completely sever relations with Iran, affect diplomatic missions and even undermine negotiations for the release of European citizens held in Iranian prisons.
Paris is especially concerned about the fate of Two of its citizens Currently living in the embassy in Tehran after being released from prison last year.
The EU’s push to ratify the IRGC comes amid global criticism of a crackdown on a wave of protests in Iran, which erupted last month in response to rising inflation and an economic crisis.
The United States-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) said it had confirmed at least 6,221 deaths, including at least 5,858 protesters, related to the weeks-long protests, while it was investigating 12,904 others.
It is kept by the Iranian government The death toll is 3,1172,427 were civilians and members of the country’s security forces and labeled the rest as “terrorists”.
Al Jazeera was unable to independently verify these figures.
Movements also broke out New stress Between Iran and the US, US President Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened to attack the country in recent weeks.
Trump designated the IRGC as a “terrorist” group in 2019 during his first term.
Canada And Australia 2024 respectively and did the same in November last year.
Iran has warned of “devastating consequences” if the EU goes ahead with plans to list the IRGC, and has summoned the Italian ambassador to Rome over the leadership of the move.