Iran has summoned all European Union ambassadors to the Islamic Republic to protest the inclusion of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps on the bloc's list of terrorist organizations, the "Associated Press" reports.
The move comes as Tehran faces the threat of US military action in response to the killing of peaceful protesters and possible mass executions. The US military has deployed the aircraft carrier "Abraham Lincoln" and several missile destroyers to the Middle East. It remains unclear whether President Donald Trump will decide to use force, even as countries in the region have engaged in diplomacy in an attempt to prevent a new war in the Middle East.
The EU designated the Revolutionary Guards a terrorist group last week for their role in a bloody crackdown on nationwide protests in January that left thousands dead and tens of thousands detained.
Other countries, including the United States and Canada, have already designated the Revolutionary Guards as a terrorist organization. While the move is largely symbolic, it adds to the economic pressure on Iran, especially since the Revolutionary Guard has a large influence on the country's economy.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said that the ambassadors began to be recalled on Sunday and that this process continued today.
"A series of actions have been considered, different options are being prepared and sent to the relevant decision-making bodies," Baghaei said. "We believe that in the coming days a decision will be made on reciprocal action by the Islamic Republic of Iran against the illegal, unreasonable and very wrong move of the EU".
Also yesterday, the speaker of the Iranian parliament said that the Islamic Republic now considers all armies of the European Union to be terrorist groups, citing a 2019 law.
The Revolutionary Guard Corps was formed after Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution as a force designed to protect the cleric-led Shiite government and was later incorporated into the country's constitution. Operating alongside the regular armed forces, it grew in prominence and power during the long and devastating war with Iraq in the 1980s. Although it faced possible dissolution after the war, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei gave it the authority to expand into private business, allowing it to flourish.
The Revolutionary Guards’ “Basij” force was arguably key in suppressing the protests, which began in earnest on January 8, when authorities cut off the internet and international phone calls for the country of 85 million people. Videos emerging from Iran via Starlink satellite dishes and other means show men, likely members of the force, shooting and beating protesters.