{"id":341774,"date":"2026-01-21T23:24:30","date_gmt":"2026-01-21T22:24:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/?p=341774"},"modified":"2026-01-21T23:24:30","modified_gmt":"2026-01-21T22:24:30","slug":"former-european-leaders-urge-eu-to-blacklist-irans-revolutionary-guards-and-back-pro-democracy-uprising","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/news\/iran-protests\/former-european-leaders-urge-eu-to-blacklist-irans-revolutionary-guards-and-back-pro-democracy-uprising\/","title":{"rendered":"Former European Leaders Urge EU to Blacklist Iran\u2019s Revolutionary Guards and Back Pro-Democracy Uprising"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_224689\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-224689\" style=\"width: 1000px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-224689\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/European-Parliament.jpg\" alt=\"European Policymakers Have Willfully Embraced Increased Danger of Iranian Attack\" width=\"1000\" height=\"523\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/European-Parliament.jpg 800w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/European-Parliament-300x157.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/European-Parliament-768x401.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/European-Parliament-696x364.jpg 696w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-224689\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">European Parliament<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"110\" data-end=\"445\">A group of former European heads of state and government has urged the European Union to take a much tougher line on Iran, calling for the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) to be designated as a terrorist organization and for explicit political backing of a \u201cfree, secular and democratic republic\u201d in the country.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"447\" data-end=\"804\">In an open letter addressed to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, European Council President Ant\u00f3nio Costa and EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas \u2013 and copied to European Parliament President Roberta Metsola and EU heads of state and government \u2013 the signatories say they are \u201cdeeply concerned by the rapidly escalating situation in Iran.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"806\" data-end=\"1141\">Nineteen days into what they describe as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/news\/iran-protests\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">a nationwide uprising<\/a>, the former leaders write that protests have spread to more than 200 cities in all 31 provinces. Triggered by the collapse of the national currency, the unrest has, in their words, \u201cevolved into a broad, popular movement demanding an end to dictatorship in all its forms.\u201d<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Former Prime Minister of Estonia \ud83c\uddea\ud83c\uddea Mart Laar joins appeal to EU leaders to recognise the right of Iran\u2019s people to \u201cresist tyranny and establish a democratic republic\u201d while rejecting a return to the Shah\u2019s dictatorship.<\/p>\n<p>CC: <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/vonderleyen?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@vonderleyen<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/EP_President?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@EP_President<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/kajakallas?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@kajakallas<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/eucopresident?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@eucopresident<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/6nMr0Sfj4z\">https:\/\/t.co\/6nMr0Sfj4z<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/lWmS9VKh9V\">pic.twitter.com\/lWmS9VKh9V<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; M. Hanif Jazayeri (@HanifJazayeri) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/HanifJazayeri\/status\/2012121488309325829?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">January 16, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"1143\" data-end=\"1534\">Citing \u201ccredible reports,\u201d the letter claims that more than 3,000 protesters have been killed, with thousands more injured or detained. The authors accuse security forces of entering hospitals to arrest the wounded and note that internet access has been repeatedly cut, calling these \u201cgrave violations of international human rights norms\u201d that require \u201ca clear and united European response.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"1536\" data-end=\"2035\">The former leaders also warn of what they call an active <a href=\"https:\/\/english.mojahedin.org\/article\/tehrans-disinformation-campaign-against-the-mek-unraveled-in-free-iran-2023-conference\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">disinformation campaign<\/a> by Iranian authorities. They state that the regime is labelling demonstrators as rioters and circulating doctored videos, including changing chants of \u201cDown with the dictator\u201d to \u201cLong live the Shah,\u201d to suggest support for a return to the Pahlavi monarchy. The letter stresses that inside Iran, protesters explicitly reject both systems, quoting the chant: \u201cDown with the oppressor, be it the Shah or the Supreme Leader.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"2037\" data-end=\"2366\">Arguing that Iranians are seeking democracy rather than \u201cthe restoration of any past dictatorship,\u201d the signatories urge the EU to recognize the people\u2019s right to \u201cresist tyranny and establish a democratic republic\u201d and to support a future political order that rules out both the current theocratic system and a revived monarchy.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">\ud83d\udea8 LETTER: 12 former \ud83c\uddea\ud83c\uddfa leaders urge the EU to recognise the right of the people of Iran to \u201cresist tyranny and establish a democratic republic\u201d\u2014adding that the Iranian people reject any return to the Shah\u2019s dictatorship.<\/p>\n<p>CC: <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/vonderleyen?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@vonderleyen<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/EP_President?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@EP_President<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/kajakallas?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@kajakallas<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/eucopresident?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@eucopresident<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/Z8bOjezWIt\">pic.twitter.com\/Z8bOjezWIt<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; M. Hanif Jazayeri (@HanifJazayeri) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/HanifJazayeri\/status\/2011847392430301377?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">January 15, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"2368\" data-end=\"2760\">At the same time, the letter distances itself from any call for Western military action. The authors endorse a statement by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.maryam-rajavi.com\/en\/biography\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Maryam Rajavi<\/a>, President-elect of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI), emphasizing that \u201cthere is no need for foreign military intervention\u201d and that change \u201crelies solely on the Iranian people and the democratic opposition\u2019s network inside the country.\u201d<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"2762\" data-end=\"3217\">Their most concrete policy demand is directed at the IRGC, described as \u201cthe regime\u2019s main instrument of repression and terror.\u201d The EU, they argue, should formally blacklist the Guards as a terrorist organization, aligning policy with the bloc\u2019s longstanding commitment to human dignity and democratic values. \u201cToday, those values are being defended on the streets of Iran,\u201d the letter states. \u201cThe EU should stand unequivocally with the Iranian people.\u201d<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">As Iranians rise up for a democratic republic, it&#39;s great to see Members of the European Parliament supporting them.<\/p>\n<p>Thank you to <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Europarl_EN?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@Europarl_EN<\/a> for supporting a Free Iran \u270c\ufe0f<\/p>\n<p>CC: <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/EP_President?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@EP_President<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/RobertaMetsola?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@RobertaMetsola<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/pinapic?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@pinapic<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ManfredWeber?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@ManfredWeber<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/davidmcallister?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@davidmcallister<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/MounirSatouri?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@MounirSatouri<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/BXKoQCrN6S\">https:\/\/t.co\/BXKoQCrN6S<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/vZSaDeaJQe\">pic.twitter.com\/vZSaDeaJQe<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; M. Hanif Jazayeri (@HanifJazayeri) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/HanifJazayeri\/status\/2013611822448771310?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">January 20, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"3219\" data-end=\"3833\">The appeal is coordinated under the banner of the Free Iran Alliance, which counts among its members several former prime ministers and presidents from Europe and beyond. The open letter itself is signed by 16 prominent figures, including former Belgian prime ministers Yves Leterme, Guy Verhofstadt and Elio Di Rupo, former Greek prime minister Antonis Samaras, former Irish prime minister Enda Kenny, former Austrian chancellor Christian Kern, former Slovenian prime minister Janez Jan\u0161a, former Estonian prime minister Mart Laar, former Slovak leaders Andrej Kiska and Iveta Radi\u010dov\u00e1, and former presidents or prime ministers from Romania, Lithuania, Malta and others.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"3835\" data-end=\"4146\">Together, they call on the EU to match its rhetoric on human rights and democracy with concrete measures in response to the bloodshed and repression in Iran, and to send a clear signal that Europe backs the country\u2019s citizens \u2013 not its rulers \u2013 at what they depict as a decisive moment in Iran\u2019s modern history.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\" data-start=\"3835\" data-end=\"4146\">\n\t\t<div class=\"wppdfemb-frame-container-1\" style=\"-webkit-overflow-scrolling:auto;\">\n\t\t\t<iframe class=\"pdfembed-iframe nonfullscreen wppdf-emb-iframe-1\"\n\t\t\t\tsrc=\"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/?pdfemb-data=eyJ1cmwiOiJodHRwczpcL1wvd3d3Lm5jci1pcmFuLm9yZ1wvZW5cL3dwLWNvbnRlbnRcL3VwbG9hZHNcLzIwMjZcLzAxXC9MZXR0ZXItdG8tRXVyb3BlYW4tbGVhZGVycy0xNS1KYW51YXJ5LTIwMjYucGRmIiwidGl0bGUiOiJMZXR0ZXIgdG8gRXVyb3BlYW4gbGVhZGVycyAtIDE1IEphbnVhcnkgMjAyNiIsImluZGV4IjoxLCJwZGZJRCI6MzQxNzc4fQ\"\n\t\t\t\ttitle=\"Letter to European leaders - 15 January 2026\"\t\t\t\tdata-pdf-id=\"341778\"\n\t\t\t\tdata-pdf-index=\"1\"\n\t\t\t\tstyle=\"border:none;width:100%;max-width:100%;height:900px;\"\n\t\t\t\tscrolling=\"yes\">\n\t\t\t<\/iframe>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A group of former European heads of state and government has urged the European Union to take a much tougher line on Iran, calling for the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) to [&#8230;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":224689,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13,9],"tags":[130,222],"class_list":{"0":"post-341774","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-iran-resistance","8":"category-iran-protests","9":"tag-iran-protests","10":"tag-iranian-resistance"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Former European Leaders Urge EU to Blacklist Iran\u2019s Revolutionary Guards and Back Pro-Democracy Uprising - 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