By Kayhan Life Staff
The European Parliament adopted a resolution on Jan. 18 urging the European Council to add the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps—along with its Basij militia and Quds Force—to the European Union terrorist list. Lawmakers also denounced what they described as a significant intensification of the Iranian regime’s repression of anti-government protesters, signaling a drive to extend political and economic pressure on the clerical regime amid ongoing unrest.
The measure passed with 562 votes in favor, 9 against, and 57 abstentions. Although they are nonbinding, Parliament resolutions often shape policy debate among the EU’s 27 member governments and can influence future decisions.
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The lawmakers expressed “full support” for the Iranian opposition. They reiterated demands for the release of protesters, journalists, and human rights defenders detained since the demonstrations that followed the 2022 death of Mahsa Amini. Her death in custody, after being jailed for allegedly violating the country’s mandatory hijab rules, galvanized one of the most extensive protest movements the theocratic state has confronted in decades.
The resolution stated the security forces’ lethal response as evidence that the regime had shifted away from deterrence toward a “strategic elimination” of dissent. It asserted that thousands of deaths and arrests pointed to a systematic pattern of abuse.
According to figures cited by various international human rights organisations, between 5,000 and more than 40,000, mostly under 30, have been killed so far. All have documented widespread use of live ammunition, torture, and forced confessions.
Lawmakers encouraged the European Council to extend existing sanctions, including asset freezes and travel bans, and to target senior officials implicated in repression. They also welcomed recent U.S. measures against Iranian security entities.
Under EU law, however, designating the IRGC as a terrorist organization requires a judicial ruling of terrorism-related activity, a requirement that has complicated previous attempts to list the group.
The European Parliament rejected several proposals that would have shifted the policy debate in a different direction.
An amendment calling for exiled Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi to address the chamber was voted down, with 132 in favor, 382 against, and 96 abstentions. Separately, amendments submitted by the Parliament’s group of left-leaning parties —urging the EU to press the United States and Israel to forgo military threats, lift sanctions on the Iranian regime, and condemn external interference in the Islamic Republic’s internal affairs—were also rejected.
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The outcome showed that there was a prevailing majority within the EU Parliament for maintaining, and in some areas strengthening, the EU’s critical stance toward Tehran.
The resolution further criticized the Iranian regime for restricting information flows through internet shutdowns and digital censorship. MEPs urged the EU and member states to increase technical and financial support for tools that help Iranian people circumvent online surveillance, noting that activists and journalists face heightened risks when communication channels are blocked.
Lawmakers reiterated calls for the Islamic Republic to grant the UN-mandated fact-finding mission unrestricted access to investigate allegations of murder, torture, rape, and enforced disappearances—abuses that rights organizations say are used to deter dissent. The resolution also pointed to the Iranian regime’s regional activities, citing its support for armed groups in Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, and Yemen as a continuing source of instability.
Finally, the Parliament said any steps toward normalizing relations with Tehran should depend on progress toward the rule of law and the unconditional release of political prisoners. It welcomed Parliament President Roberta Metsola’s decision to bar representatives of the Iranian regime from parliamentary premises and encouraged member governments to consider similar restrictions.
