Exclusive; The European Union refrains from confirming or denying the news about the terrorist designation of the IRGC

A spokesperson for the European Union on Friday, July 15, reacted to news regarding Germany's request to the EU to add the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to the list of terrorist organizations, stating that discussions within the European Council are 'internal and confidential' and refraining from confirming or denying the news. This EU official reminded the Persian section of Voice of America that the prerequisite for adding an organization to the EU's terrorist list is a declaration of the organization as terrorist by 'a competent national authority of one of the member states or a third country, such as a court ruling or an executive order.' According to him, such a decision must be made based on laws that fall under the 'Terrorist Law' as outlined in Article 1(3) of the 'Common Position of December 2001.' The EU spokesperson stated that adding any organization to the EU's list of terrorist organizations ultimately requires the unanimous agreement of all 27 member states of the European Council. He further noted that individuals and entities associated with the IRGC have already been sanctioned by the EU due to issues related to human rights violations in Iran, as well as violations of Ukraine's territorial integrity, the war in Syria, and Iran's weapons of mass destruction. The EU spokesperson reminded that the entirety of the IRGC is also under sanctions related to Iran's weapons of mass destruction regime, stating: 'Thus, there is already a commitment within the EU to freeze the assets of the IRGC and to prohibit their access to funds and economic resources directly or indirectly.' According to information published by Süddeutsche Zeitung, one of Germany's most widely read newspapers, on Thursday, July 14, the German federal government has initiated a formal process with the EU to impose terrorist sanctions against the IRGC. The Persian section of Voice of America has sought a reaction from the German Foreign Ministry in this regard and will provide it to its audience as soon as received. Adding the IRGC to the EU's terrorist list has been one of the main demands of opponents of the Islamic Republic in recent years. In this context, Canada, in recent weeks and after years of efforts by Iranian-Canadian activists, has finally placed the IRGC on its list of terrorist organizations. Dominique LeBlanc, Canada's Minister of Public Safety, announced on Wednesday, June 30, at a press conference that the Canadian government has designated the IRGC as a terrorist organization 'under criminal regulations.' He accused the Islamic Republic of Iran of 'supporting terrorism,' human rights violations 'inside and outside Iran,' and 'seeking to destabilize the rules-based international order.' The IRGC is a branch of the armed forces of the Iranian government that answers directly to Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic. The United States officially added the IRGC to its list of terrorist organizations in 2019. Prior to that, the U.S. Treasury had listed the IRGC as a terrorist group in 2017. Bahrain and Saudi Arabia have also included the IRGC on their terrorist lists since 2018.