Iranian officials: EU will regret 'servitude to US' over IRGC designation

Iranian officials have warned that the EU’s designation of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) will have serious consequences, insisting the decision will not hinder the force’s mission but will rebound against Europe.

Abdollah Haji Sadeqi, representative of the Islamic Revolution Leader to the IRGC, said sanctions against the force would not undermine its duties but would carry “heavy repercussions” for the EU. He said the consequences of the decision would ultimately return to those who made it.

Referring to the EU’s recent move, Haji Sadeqi said hostility from Iran’s adversaries is nothing new. He added that the European Union has proved its “servitude to the United States” and submission to Western and American bullying, adding that such behavior had nevertheless surprised some observers.

He said the IRGC is an official institution of the Islamic Republic and that the EU’s action amounts to “an insult to the Iranian state that would not remain without repercussions.”

The cleric called the European Union “[US President Donald] Trump’s servant” and said the bloc had lost its identity and independence.

“The dignity and reputation of these servants are being exposed one after another, and their true nature is being revealed,” he said.

Iran FM: EU’s blacklisting of IRGC a ‘major strategic mistake’

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has sharply criticized the EU after it designated the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) as a “terrorist organization,” saying the move is a strategic mistake that harms Europe’s own interests.

Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad-Baqer Qalibaf also slammed the designation. Qalibaf wrote in a post on the social media platform X that the IRGC is “one of the strongest and most effective anti-terrorism forces in the world.”

He added that only those who “stand on the side of terrorists” could deny the IRGC’s record in fighting the Daesh terrorist group. “Supporting terrorism will bring nothing but regret for European countries,” Qalibaf wrote.

Meanwhile, Admiral Ali Shamkhani, a senior advisor to the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, noted that countermeasures to the EU’s decision will be “immediate.”

“The West doesn’t ‘define’ terrorism, it ‘uses’ it: aiding the killing in Gaza, installing terrorists, and engineering insecurity are ‘policy,’ while IRGC’s fight against Daesh is ‘terrorism,’ showing how #US and #Europe have warped the concept,” Shamkhani wrote in a post on X on Friday.

The European Union added the IRGC to its terrorist list in response to Iran's measures against rioters who violently wreaked havoc across the country on the invitation of a monarchist and the public incitement of US and Israeli leaders in late December.

Foreign-backed armed rioters and terrorists hijacked peaceful, sporadic protests over economic grievances on January 8 and 9 and turned them into scenes of murder, torching of mosques, clinics, ambulances and commuter buses and destroying public and private property. 

Iranian authorities have confirmed that US and Israeli spy agencies were directly involved, providing funding, training, and media support to rioters and armed terrorists acting on the streets.

Press TV’s website can also be accessed at the following alternate addresses:

www.presstv.co.uk