The European Parliament adopted a resolution on Wednesday that calls on member states of the European Union to designate Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps a terrorist organization.
The vote on the resolution secured 598 in favor and only 9 against, from among its 705 members. The resolution includes a condemnation of the IRGC’S human rights violations, destabilizing activities, and military support for Russia in its war on Ukraine.
Iranian Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi, a former IRGC commander, condemned the European vote, according to Iranian state media. Vahidi reportedly said that “the move clearly attests to the mental and political weakness of its architects.”
The Brussels-based European Parliament, the EU’s only directly elected institution, is expected to designate the IRGC, itself, a “terrorist organization,” in a separate resolution to be voted on this Thursday. The United Kingdom is currently weighing a similar designation, encouraged by the U.S. State Department.
“We encourage our allies and partners to consider any applicable sanctions authorities, including whether the IRGC should be designated as a terrorist organization under their laws,” said U.S. State Department Spokesperson Ned Price in a briefing to the media earlier this month.
The U.S. added the IRGC to its “Foreign Terrorist Organizations” list in 2019, as part of the “maximum pressure” campaign against Iran initiated by then-President Donald Trump.
Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen said the introduction of the IRGC to the terror list is “an important step in the fight against the Iranian regime.”
“Iran is a terrorist state that exports terrorism to the Middle East, Europe and the entire world,” Cohen said. “During the many policy talks that I have held since taking office, I have [emphasized] to all foreign ministers and leaders the importance of the fight against the Iranian regime, both in the nuclear field and in the context of financing and targeting terrorism.”
On Tuesday, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen expressed her support for the EU’s decision to designate the IRGC a terrorist organization. During the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, she told reporters that “the actions of the Iranian regime are atrocious and horrible” and that the regime is “trampling fundamental human rights with their feet.”
Von der Leyen urged a strong response to the current situation with Iran and said the EU is looking “at a new round of sanctions” against the regime.
This article originally appeared on All Arab News and is reposted with permission.