European Parliament Resolution: IRGC and Hezbollah Should Be Listed as 'Terrorist Organizations'

On Thursday, May 6, members of the European Parliament passed a resolution calling for the inclusion of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and Hezbollah in the list of terrorist organizations by the European Union. They strongly condemned the Islamic Republic's missile and drone attacks on Israel, as well as simultaneous attacks by Hezbollah and the Houthis on the Golan Heights and other areas of Israel, expressing concern over rising tensions in the Middle East and declaring their firm support for Israel and its citizens. The resolution was adopted with 357 votes in favor, 20 against, and 58 abstentions. In another section of the resolution, the European Parliament condemned the alleged Israeli attack on the Islamic Republic's consulate on April 2 and emphasized the importance of the inviolability of diplomatic and consular premises under international law. The adopted resolution expressed serious concern about the destabilizing role of the Islamic Republic and its network of non-state actors in the Middle East, calling for maximum restraint from all parties to prevent further conflicts. In another part of the resolution, members of the European Parliament welcomed the recent decision by the European Union to expand sanctions against the Iranian government, including in the area of drone and missile production and supply to Russia and its proxy groups in the Middle East, and called for the immediate implementation of these sanctions as well as additional sanctions against individuals and entities of the Islamic Republic. European lawmakers, referencing the malign activities of the Islamic Republic in the Middle East, called for the IRGC to be added to the list of terrorist organizations. They urged the European Council and Josep Borrell, the EU's foreign policy chief, to also add Hezbollah to the list of terrorist organizations. In the session on Thursday, German lawmaker Hannah Neumann stated that the IRGC must be listed as a terrorist organization. She referred to the Islamic Republic's direct attack on Israel and its continuous violations of nuclear commitments, calling for an alternative regional security plan to prevent the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and prepare for new attacks by the Islamic Republic. The European Parliament resolution, while recalling the Islamic Republic's non-compliance with its safeguards commitments under the JCPOA, requested Iranian officials to immediately adhere to these obligations and address all related issues. European Parliament members condemned the Islamic Republic's use of hostage diplomacy, meaning the detention and imprisonment of foreign citizens as a bargaining tool, and called on the EU to adopt a new strategy to counter this approach by the Iranian government by establishing a special task force to assist the families of dual nationals and foreign detainees and to prevent further hostage-taking. The resolution also supported the European Council's decision to launch the 'European Union Naval Operation', known as Aspida, and called on the Islamic Republic and its proxy forces to guarantee the safe release and return of European crew members kidnapped from passing ships in the region.