In a statement on Thursday, the ministry emphasized that the IRGC is a formal, lawful institution that plays a crucial role in Iran’s national defense and in combating terrorism.
The ministry described the designation of the IRGC as a terrorist organization as a “dangerous” and “unjustified” step that undermines multilateralism and the rule of law.
The ministry accused the EU of aligning with Zionist and US warmongering agendas, and slammed EU claims that it is concerned over human rights in Iran as hypocritical, citing European support for Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein during his war on Iran and the EU’s complicity in imposing brutal sanctions against the country.
The ministry also cited the bloc’s refusal to take any action against the Israeli regime in the face of the two-year genocide in Gaza.
This statement adds that the IRGC, as an integral part of the official armed forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran, in accordance with the country’s Constitution, has played an irreplaceable and honorable role in safeguarding Iran’s sovereignty and national security, protecting regional stability, and combating terrorism, including the very Daesh (ISIS or ISIL) terrorism that was the product of the coalition and machinations of certain European countries and the United States.
According to the statement, any designation of a sovereign and official institution as “terrorist” constitutes a dangerous precedent, a blatant violation of the principle of the rule of law in international relations, and a clear disregard for the fundamental principles of international law, including respect for state sovereignty and the prohibition of interference in the internal affairs of countries.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry emphasized that this action “delivers another fatal blow to the standing and credibility of the European Union and pushes the world further toward lawlessness and the rule of the jungle.”
The Foreign Ministry statement says: “Terrorism,” in the precise sense of the word, is a label that, given the conduct of the military forces of European Union member states in illegal or quasi-legal missions of Western coalitions, including NATO, over recent decades, including in Africa, Iraq, and Afghanistan, and the heinous crimes committed by them against millions of innocent people in these regions, should be applied to them.
Iran’s diplomatic apparatus described “the repugnant claim by the European parties of concern for the human rights of Iranians as a big lie and a deceptive assertion,” and stressed that the European parties must be held accountable for their crimes resulting from their gross violations of the fundamental human rights of Iranians, whether through assisting the imposed war of Saddam Hussein’s regime against Iran in the 1980s or through the imposition of anti-human sanctions and the enforcement of the United States’ cruel sanctions over the past two decades.
The statement adds: “Their claims regarding the ‘denial of impunity’ are a bitter irony; the European parties not only made no effort to prevent the ‘impunity’ of the Israeli regime for the genocide of Palestinians, but have always stood alongside the occupying and genocidal party, and during the Zionist regime’s military aggression against Iran also acted as accomplices to this regime.”
At the end, the Foreign Ministry noted that it is self-evident that responsibility for the political, legal, and security consequences arising from such an imprudent decision will rest with European policymakers, particularly its designers and initiators.
The Islamic Republic of Iran, while emphasizing its determination to defend its sovereignty and national security against any foreign interference and terrorist malign actions, will adopt all necessary measures to protect the interests and legitimate rights of the Iranian nation in response to this illegal and anti-Iranian action by the European Union.
The EU classified the IRGC as a terrorist organization on Thursday.
“EU foreign ministers just took the decisive step of designating Iran’s Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist organization,” EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas wrote in a message on X.
Iran had previously warned against European anti-Iranian moves, especially those targeting the IRGC.
Officials have emphasized that the IRGC is a legitimate military institution and warned that any action against it is illegal and a clear violation of the United Nations Charter.
Ismaeil Baqaei, spokesperson for Iran’s Foreign Ministry, had warned that labeling part of a country’s official armed forces is “not only against fundamental principles of international law, but also logically and politically very ill-considered and fraught with consequences.”
According to Baqaei, simply labeling an institution “that emerges from the Iranian people and is responsible for protecting the nation and the security of the Persian Gulf is a petty and illogical act,” adding that Iran reserves the right to respond reciprocally.