European Union foreign ministers adopted new sanctions on Iran yesterday targeting individuals and entities involved in a violent crackdown on protesters and in the country’s support to Russia, EU diplomats said yesterday.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said in a post on social media platform X that the sanctions include members of the Iranian government, judiciary, police and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), as well as entities responsible for internet censorship.
The EU’s foreign ministers are also expected to reach a political agreement yesterday to include the IRGC on the bloc’s list of terrorist organisations, putting the powerful guards in a category similar to that of Islamic State and Al Qaeda and marking a symbolic shift in Europe’s approach to Iran’s leadership.
Set up after Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution to protect the Shi’ite clerical ruling system, the IRGC has great sway in the country, controlling swathes of the economy and armed forces. The guards were also put in charge of Iran’s ballistic missile and nuclear programmes.
While some EU member states have previously pushed for the IRGC to be added to the EU’s terrorist list, others have been more cautious, fearing that it could hinder communication with Iran’s government and endanger European citizens inside the country. But a brutal crackdown on a nationwide protest movement earlier this month, killing thousands of people, increased momentum for the move.
“It’s important that we send this signal that the bloodshed that we’ve seen, the bestiality of the violence that’s been used against protesters, cannot be tolerated,” Dutch Foreign Minister David van Weel said yesterday morning. France and Italy, which were previously reluctant to list the IRGC, lent their backing this week.
Despite concerns from some capitals that a decision to label the IRGC a terror organisation could lead to a complete breakdown in ties with Iran, European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas told reporters that “the estimate is that still the diplomatic channels will remain open, even after the listing of the Revolutionary Guards”.
The Trump administration is hosting senior defence and intelligence officials from Israel and Saudi for separate talks on Iran this week in Washington as US President Donald Trump considers military strikes, according to two people familiar with the matter. Tensions have escalated amid a US military buildup in the Middle East. Trump urged Iran on Wednesday to come to the table and make a deal on nuclear weapons or face a US attack, drawing a threat from Tehran to strike back hard.
Israel’s military intelligence chief, General Shlomi Binder, held talks on Iran with senior officials at the Pentagon, the CIA and the White House on Tuesday and Wednesday, a source familiar with the matter said. Axios reported that he shared intelligence on possible Iranian targets.
Saudi Defence Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman was also in Washington for meetings with US officials focused on Iran, according to a second source familiar with the discussions.
The Saudis and other Gulf states have sought to de-escalate the situation and prevent a wider war. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman told Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian that Riyadh would not allow its airspace or territory to be used for military actions against Tehran, state news agency SPA reported this week.
&uuid=(email))