In a letter to the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, on Friday, the International Committee ‘In Search of Justice’ (ISJ) has called for the European Union to add Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to its terrorist list.

“Simply listing individuals and entities of the IRGC under the Iran human rights sanctions regime, the territorial integrity of Ukraine sanctions regime, the Syria sanctions regime, and the Iran weapons of mass destruction sanctions regime does not go far enough. Most of the individuals listed have no connections with the EU and are therefore unaffected by any sanctions. The failure to blacklist the IRGC allows it to continue to operate as a major threat to regional and global security. With its involvement in terrorist activities, support for extremist groups, and a long history of human rights abuses inside Iran, the IRGC is ruthlessly exploiting this failure,” the ISJ letter states.

By failing to blacklist the Revolutionary Guards, the EU is inadvertently providing legitimacy to the IRGC and its malevolent activities, the ISJ points out.

“The IRGC has been a destabilising force in the Middle East for decades, engaging in proxy wars, sponsoring terrorist organisations, and fuelling sectarian conflicts. Its involvement in Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, Gaza and Yemen, through its proxy groups such as Hezbollah and Hamas, has led to immense bloodshed and suffering. Indeed, as acknowledged by senior Iranian regime officials, the IRGC was the main motive force behind the horrific October 7th Hamas attack on Israel that fomented the Israel-Gaza war. It has relentlessly violated human rights within Iran’s borders, leading to widespread oppression, arbitrary arrests, torture, and extrajudicial killings as well as the latest brutal crackdown on women.”

“In January of last year, the near-unanimous majority of the European Parliament, representing hundreds of millions of Europeans, called for the blacklisting of the IRGC. By designating the IRGC as a terrorist organisation, the EU and UK would send a clear message that support for such destructive activities will not be tolerated. Appeasing the Iranian regime has been a strategic and an historic blunder. The Iranian regime is not only oppressing its own citizens but also the mortal enemy of the West. It is time we woke up to that reality,” the letter adds.

Signatories to the letter include ISJ President and former European Parliament Vice President, Alejo Vidal-Quadras; former President of the European Parliament’s Delegation for Relations with Iraq, Struan Stevenson; and former Chair of European Parliament’s Delegation for Relations with the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, Paulo Casaca. Copies of the letter were forwarded to the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, and the President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola.

International Committee ‘In Search of Justice’ (ISJ)

19 April 2024