The International Committee ‘In Search of Justice’ (ISJ) has called on the European Union to designate Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organization.
In a letter to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, the ISJ stated that simply listing IRGC individuals and entities under various sanctions regimes is not enough. “The failure to blacklist the IRGC allows it to continue to operate as a major threat to regional and global security,” the letter said.
The ISJ argued that the IRGC has a long history of involvement in terrorist activities, support for extremist groups, and human rights abuses inside Iran. “The IRGC has been a destabilizing force in the Middle East for decades, engaging in proxy wars, sponsoring terrorist organizations, and fueling sectarian conflicts,” the letter stated. ]
The letter cited the IRGC’s involvement in Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, Gaza, and Yemen through proxy groups like Hezbollah and Hamas, which has “led to immense bloodshed and suffering.” It also noted the IRGC’s role in the October 2023 Hamas attack on Israel that sparked the Israel-Gaza conflict.
The ISJ pointed out that the European Parliament had called for the IRGC’s blacklisting in a near-unanimous vote last year, representing the will of hundreds of millions of Europeans. “By failing to blacklist the Revolutionary Guards, the EU is inadvertently providing legitimacy to the IRGC and its malevolent activities,” the letter concluded.
The full text of the open letter can be accessed at the link below:
https://isjcommittee.com/2024/04/isj-urges-eu-to-blacklist-irans-revolutionary-guards-as-terrorists/
