TEHRAN – Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) has slammed the European Union’s decision to place the force on its so-called “terrorism” list, calling the move legally groundless and politically reckless, and accusing Brussels of aligning itself with U.S. pressure tactics while overlooking realities on the ground in West Asia.

In a statement issued after the decision, the IRGC thanked Iranian officials and public figures for their “display of national consensus.” That response, the statement said, reflected a broad understanding inside Iran of the IRGC’s role as a central security institution at moments of national crisis.

The IRGC rejected the EU designation as incompatible with international law, arguing that labeling a state military force as “terrorist” undermines basic norms of interstate relations. Rather than weakening the organization, the statement said, the decision had reinforced internal cohesion and hardened Iran’s determination to defend its national interests.

The IRGC’s was the central force in the fight against Daesh during the 2010s. As the terrorists seized large parts of Iraq and Syria and carried out mass killings, the IRGC—working with local allies—became a key factor in rolling back its territorial control and preventing its spread to other regions, including Europe. The campaign came at a heavy cost, including the deaths of hundreds of IRGC members and senior commanders.

Europe’s move has been seen by analysts as part of a broader Western strategy that ignores the conduct of other regional actors while singling out Tehran. That fact was also brought up by the IRGC in its statement, noting that European governments have been turning a blind eye to the destabilizing role of Israel, while adopting Washington’s confrontational approach toward Iran. Such policies, the statement argued, would only deepen regional tensions and narrow the space for diplomacy. Iranians have accused European states of acting as U.S. lackies and lacking agency multiple times in recent years. 

“The IRGC will continue its security and civilian missions inside and outside Iran. Political designations will not alter its responsibility to protect the country and confront terrorist threats,” it added. 

Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf echoed these points in Saturday remarks to lawmakers, arguing that Europe was targeting “the very force that stood in the way of terrorism reaching European cities.” He said the decision would ultimately damage Europe’s own security interests while accelerating what he described as the continent’s declining influence in a changing global order.

He said several European countries are offering political space, media platforms, or safe haven to militant groups hostile to Iran, while remaining largely silent on the humanitarian toll of Israel’s genocide in Gaza.

Almost every separatist Iranian faction operates out of Europe. Anti-Iran terrorist groups are also based in European capitals and have close and public relations with European officials. For instance, the Mujahedin-e-Khalq (MEK) terrorist organization, which killed over 19,000 Iranians in the 1980s and currently aids the Israeli regime in sabotage attacks and assassinations inside Iran, is based in France, Germany, England, and Albania.