Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar spoke with European Union officials to discuss the designation of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organization on Friday, amid the Iranian government's violent crackdown on anti-regime protests.
In a statement released on X/Twitter, Sa’ar announced that he held a call with the EU’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaya Kallas, and EU president, Cypriot Foreign Minister Constantinos Kombous.
Sa’ar stated that the focus of the conversation was “the Iranian regime’s murderous repression of the protests of the Iranian citizens and their struggle for freedom” and a push for the EU to recognize the IRGC as a terrorist organization.
“Today, the Revolutionary Guards are leading the repression and massacre of Iran's citizens,” Sa’ar said, emphasizing the IRGC’s role in promoting “the spread of terror and instability in the Middle East and beyond.”
Sa’ar described the designation as “an important practical step that would also send a moral message of hope to the people of Iran.”
On Wednesday, Sa’ar held a similar call with French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot in which he requested French support in the push for EU proscription of the IRGC.
Prior IRGC prescription
The IRGC has been proscribed as a terrorist organization in several countries, including the United States, Saudi Arabia, and Canada.
On Monday, the United Kingdom’s Business Secretary Peter Kyle announced that the UK would not designate the IRGC as a terrorist organization.
According to Kyle, the UK government and an independent reviewer discussed proscription but deemed the move not appropriate “for a foreign state organization” after evaluating UK terrorism law.
Rather than proscribing the IRGC, the UK opted to impose sanctions, which have been in place since 2020.
Fraidy Moser and Mathilda Heller contributed to this report.