EU Says It Cannot Brand IRG as “Terror” Group Before Court Ruling

By Staff, Agencies

The European Union cannot list Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards [IRG] as a “terrorist” entity until an EU court has determined that they are, the European Union's foreign policy chief said on Monday.

EU foreign ministers are however set to add 37 names to the bloc's list of people and entities subject to sanctions over human rights violations in Iran, two European diplomats told Reuters last week.

The European Parliament has called on the EU to list the IRG as a “terrorist” entity, blaming it for the alleged repression of domestic protests and the supply of drones to Russia.

"It is something that cannot be decided without a court, a court decision first. You cannot say I consider you a terrorist because I don't like you," Josep Borrell, the EU's high representative for foreign affairs, told reporters as he arrived for a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels.

He said the court of an EU member had to issue a concrete legal condemnation before the EU itself could act.

Arriving at the same meeting, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said the EU must talk about putting the IRG on the sanctions list.