EU preps Iran sanctions amid focus on Revolutionary Guards
January 18, 2023
The European Parliament and the head of the European Commission have advocated labeling the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps a terrorist group, as diplomats from the bloc finalize the next round of sanctions on Iran.
Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps carries out all manner of tasks, mainly but not exclusively within Iran, ranging from military operations to policing or even, as in this case as part of a biological defense drill amid the COVID pandemicImage: picture alliance/ZUMAPRESS
Advertisement
As the EU prepares its next set of sanctions in response to Iran's repression of public protests, both the European Parliament and the president of the European Commission have spoken out in favor of adding the entire Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to the bloc's list of terrorist groups or organizations.
Diplomats laying the groundwork for the next package of sanctions, likely to be announced at a meeting of EU members' foreign ministers next Monday, told news agencies on Wednesday that the details of the package had been finalized in the preliminary talks, without saying exactly what had been agreed.
Iran has launched a brutal crackdown on public protests that began following the September 16 death of a young Kurdish Iranian, Jina Mahsa Amini, while in detention.
She was detained for violating Iran's strict dress codes for women. Her death led to a growing protest movement, often involving young women protesting about the obligation to wear a headscarf, but soon expanding to more general displays of public dissent.
As well as numerous arrests, it has also started announcing a series of death sentences against people allegedly involved in the public unrest, sometimes reportedly in trials lasting just a matter of minutes. Four people are known to have been hanged on charges connected to the protests, among dozens of sentences issued.
Iran has sentenced a series of people to death by hanging for alleged crimes committed during the public protests; critics call the trials a shamImage: Mizan/WANA/REUTERS
European Parliament calls for IRGC to be named terror group
While diplomats for the governments of the 27 EU members debated, the European Parliament passed a resolution on Wednesday urging Brussels to list the IRGC as a terrorist organization.
Advertisement
MEPs backed an amended added to an annual foreign policy report urging "the EU and its member states to include the IRGC on the EU's terror blacklist in the light of its terrorist activity, the repression of protesters and its supplying of drones to Russia."
Support for the motion was overwhelming, with 598 MEPs approving, nine opposing and 31 abstaining.
Formed after the Islamic Revolution in Iran, the IRGC is parallel to Iran's regular military and generally considered the primary branch of the Iranian Armed Forces. It has ground, naval and aviation troops. Figures are dated and patchy, but it is thought to have at least a quarter of a million personnel in total.
Designating the IRGC as a terrorist group would mean that it would be considered a criminal offence by the EU to belong to it, and any of its assets in the bloc would be frozen. It would also not be able to receive funds from EU citizens or businesses.
The idea of adding it to the sanctions list is not new, but has obtained renewed momentum amid the current protests; in the past those reticent to take this step have argued that it would further damage already icy relations with Tehran.
Protests in solidarity with Iranian demonstrators have taken place all over the world, including in European capitalsImage: Ludovic Marin/AFP/Getty Images
Is it the European Parliament that decides?
The European Parliament resolution does not oblige the EU to act, with authority for such decisions ultimately resting with the 27 member states, and consensus required to reach a deal — as with most foreign policy decisions.
However, it adds further weight to similar calls from individual member states, and from European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on in Davos this week.
"We are looking indeed at a new round of sanctions and I would support also listing the Revolutionary Guards. I have heard several ministers asking for that and I think they are right," von der Leyen told reporters on Tuesday.
'Woman, life, freedom!': Iran marks 3 months of protests
The violent death of Jina Mahsa Amini in September has triggered the largest protest movement in decades against the repressive rule in the Islamic Republic. The Iranian state has reacted with full force.
Image: LOUISA GOULIAMAKI/AFP/Getty Images
Face of a revolution
On September 13, 2022, Jina Mahsa Amini was arrested by the morality police in the Iranian capital, Tehran, allegedly because her clothes and headscarf did not comply with the official rules of the Islamic Republic. Three days later, the 22-year-old Kurdish woman died in the custody of the security authorities. Her death triggered an uprising across the country.
Image: Kenzo Tribouillard/AFP
'Woman, life, freedom!'
On September 17, the uprising against the regime began at Amini's funeral in her Kurdish hometown of Saqqez: women removed their headscarves, waved them in the air and shouted "Jin, jiyan, azadi!" — in English, "Woman, life, freedom!" The call became the slogan of the growing protest movement. On October 26, thousands came to Aichi cemetery to mark 40 days since Amini's death, as seen here.
Image: UGC/AFP
Historic uprising against the ayatollahs
Amini's death marked the beginning of a historic movement. The protests against the repressive government have shaken all regions of the country, like here in Tehran at the end of September. And they haven't been limited to women — people of all ages, ethnicity and gender have taken part. It's the biggest uprising against the regime since the Islamic Revolution in 1979.
Image: AFP
Without hijab — and without fear
Over the past three months, more and more women in the Kurdish city of Sanandaj, in western Iran, have been taking to the streets without the obligatory hijab. They have shown great courage, as anyone who violates the compulsory veil risks lashes and imprisonment.
Image: SalamPix/abaca/picture alliance
Showing hair and attitude
Despite the threat, women and girls have not been intimidated. In October, these schoolgirls took off their headscarves and shouted "Death to the dictator!" — meaning Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Universities saw mass protests, and students, teachers and also oil workers took part in strikes across the country. The Kurdistan region was the scene of a general strike in early December.
Image: SalamPix/abaca/picture alliance
Regime reacts with violence
In an attempt to quash the movement, the regime has reacted with massive violence. Police and the notorious Basij paramilitary group have been sent in to break up the protests — here, police in Tehran approached a group of fleeing demonstrators with batons. Human rights organizations have estimated more than 400 people have been killed by security forces, including many children and youth.
Image: AFP
Randomness and brutality
According to eyewitness reports, police and militia have brutally beaten and fired at demonstrators, some of whom are said to have been shot in the back. Around 14,000 people are said to have been imprisoned for taking part in the demonstrations — like these women locked in a police van in Tehran.
Image: SalamPix/ABACA/picture alliance
Prisons filling up
The notorious Evin Prison in Tehran has become a symbol of repression. Political and intellectual opposition figures are being locked up here, made to survive catastrophic conditions including reported torture. In mid-October, a fire broke out at the prison and witnesses reported hearing gunfire. It remains unclear how many prisoners died or simply disappeared.
Image: UGC
Climbing without a headscarf
Prominent figures from the arts, culture and sports scenes have also taken part in the protests. At the FIFA World Cup in Qatar, the national football team refused to sing the Iranian national anthem at their opening match. When climber Elnaz Rekabi, above, competed in Seoul without a hijab, the pictures made headlines around the world. However, she was quickly silenced and issued an apology.
Image: Rhea Kang/AFP
Cutting their hair
The protest movement has received support from around the world, with thousands demonstrating from Paris to San Francisco for regime change in Tehran. In Istanbul, this exiled Iranian woman cut short her hair in front of the Iranian consulate in solidarity with the oppressed women in her home country. Prominent women — and some men — have imitated the gesture worldwide.
Image: YASIN AKGUL/AFP/Getty Images
Symbolic support
The global support hasn't just been in the form of protests. On December 13, the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin was illuminated with the Kurdish words "Woman, life, freedom." In the United States, Time named Iranian women as the magazine's "Heroes of the Year."
Image: Markus Schreiber/AP/picture alliance
'No to the Islamic Republic'
The worldwide protests — here a demonstration in Toronto — have put pressure on the government in Tehran. Additional sanctions are putting a massive strain on the country's economy. The exchange rate of the rial has fallen by more than 20% against the euro and dollar since September, hitting a record low. Even before the demonstrations began, the country was suffering an acute financial crisis.
Image: Creative Touch Imaging Ltd/NurPhoto/IMAGO
Executed for 'enmity against God'
Two imprisoned protesters have already been executed: Rapper Mohsen Shekari and Majidreza Rahnavard, seen here. At least 38 other imprisoned protesters are facing execution for the crime of moharebeh, or "enmity against God." Even children can be executed in Iran.
Image: AFP/Getty Images
'Sow the wind, and reap the whirlwind'
The global community has reacted with horror to the news of the executions. The European Union condemned the deaths, and imposed further sanctions. Meanwhile, the protests, in Iran and abroad — including at the World Cup, above — continue. Following the adage "sow the wind, and reap the whirlwind," opponents of the regime have vowed that Jina Mahsa Amini will not have died in vain.
Image: GIUSEPPE CACACE/AFP/Getty Images
14 images1 | 14
European diplomats have already said off the record that members of the IRGC would be added to the sanctions list in the upcoming package, without mentioning a decision on the group as a whole.
The European Parliament is expected to make a renewed appeal of a similar nature on Thursday.
This is expected to go into more detail about which arms of the IRGC ought be sanctioned, perhaps most notably the paramilitary Basij militia that generally conduct domestic operations, including "policing morals" — or enforcing Iran's dress code in Amini's case — and often now responding to the subsequent public protests.
The US and others accuse Iran of delivering drones to Russia for use in UkraineImage: irdiplomacy.ir
Have other countries taken similar steps?
Britain, which left the EU comparatively recently and used to be considered a more hawkish member state on foreign policy matters, is expected to announce a similar decision in the coming weeks. The US designated the IRGC as a terrorist organization in 2019 under former President Donald Trump's leadership.
Australia sanctioned the Basij forces specifically in December 2022.
The EU's Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders on Wednesday told the European Parliament this week that he could "guarantee that all options allowing the EU to react to events in Iran remain on the table."
Speaking to the Reuters news agency, the Finnish and Swedish foreign ministers appeared to offer diverging opinions on the question — albeit with neither offering a categorical opinion.
Finland's Pekka Haavisto said the "appalling" use of capital punishment, stalling on re-establishing a nuclear deal with international powers, delivering arms to Russia and human rights abuses meant it was "important we react strongly."
Meanwhile, Sweden's Tobias Billstrom said it was important to note that the IRGC was already on the EU's separate sanctions list for human rights violators, as opposed to terrorist organizations. He also argued that the EU's individual terrorist sanctions regime targeting specific people or groups was often a "tougher" legal instrument in practice and possibly a better solution.
