EU holds talks on listing IRGC as terrorist group

Sweden calls on bloc to proscribe group after accusing Iran of recruiting members of criminal gangs to carry out attacks

Police forensics workers at the scene of an attack at the Israeli embassy in Stockholm, in October. Reuters

The EU has taken a step towards listing Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organisation, after the bloc's legal services deemed a German court case involving the Iranian state to be sufficient for officials to move forward with political discussions about proscribing the group.

EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell said at a meeting of the bloc's foreign ministers in Luxembourg on Monday that listing the IRGC was under discussion. "The working groups are dealing with that," he said. "I don't think [they are] going to take a decision today."

Mr Borrell made the comments days after a senior EU official said the European External Action Service decided there was a sufficient legal basis to move forward with discussions. The decision referred to a ruling by a Dusseldorf court in 2022 that implicated the Iranian state in a failed arson plot against a synagogue.

The IRGC can only be proscribed by the EU if a court in a member state has linked the group to terrorist activities.

Sweden has said it supports listing the IRGC because it has carried out several attacks against Israeli-linked sites in the country. Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson told the Expressen newspaper on Sunday said Iran recruited members of criminal gangs to commit "acts of violence" in the past year, according to Sweden's intelligence agency, Sapo. They include three attacks on the Israeli embassy in Stockholm and two attacks on an Israeli military technology company.

In May, Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter reported that documents from Israel's intelligence agency Mossad showed the head of the Swedish criminal network Foxtrot, Rawa Majid, and his rival Ismail Abdo, head of the Rumba gang, were recruited by Iran. Attacks on the Israeli embassies in Stockholm and Copenhagen were ordered by Foxtrot at the behest of Iran, Swedish public broadcaster SVT reported this month. Iran denies the claim.

Foxtrot leader Rawa Majid, left, and Ismail Abdo, head of the Rumba gang. Photo: Swedish Police

"We want Sweden to seriously address, with other EU countries, the incredibly problematic connection between the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and their destructive role in the [Middle East] region, but also their escalating actions around various European countries, including Sweden," Mr Kristersson said. "The only reasonable consequence ... is that we get a joint terror classification, so that we can act more broadly than [we can with] the sanctions that already exist."

It comes weeks after Sweden said it uncovered an Iranian hacking operation to send 15,000 text messages in an effort to deepen divisions in the country, by urging recipients to act after the Quran was desecrated. Part of the text read “those who insulted the Quran must pay", Swedish media reported at the time.

In a separate decision, the EU council on Monday announced sanctions against 14 Iranian people and entities for transferring missiles and drones to Russia to be used in the war against Ukraine. Iranian Airlines and deputy defence minister Seyed Hamzeh Ghalandari were among those placed under sanctions.

The IRGC was formed after the 1979 Iranian revolution and has close ties to the country’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. It is thought to have more than 190,000 personnel and has its own army, navy and special forces.

The group has been blamed for destabilising the Middle East through its support for groups including Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthi rebels. The IRGC was designated as a terrorist group by the US during Donald Trump's presidency. Canada became proscribed the group in June.

The UK announced its intention to list the group in 2023, but a dispute between the Home Office and the Foreign Office resulted in those plans being shelved for more than a year. But that could soon change, with Labour Party’s election manifesto stating it would outlaw the IRGC, saying that threats from hostile states or state-sponsored groups were on the rise. Labour was elected to government in July.

On Monday, the UK announced new sanctions against Iranian military figures after the country's missile attack on Israel. The sanctions were imposed on officials including Mohammad-Hossein Dadras, Deputy Commander-in Chief of the Islamic Republic of Iran Army; Hamid Vahedi, Commander of the Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force; and Mohammad Kazemi, IRGC Intelligence Chief.

The UK said the package will also freeze the assets of Farzanegan Propulsion Systems Design Bureau, which manufactures parts that can be used in cruise missiles, and the Iranian Space Agency, which develops technology with applications in ballistic missile systems.

"Following its ballistic missile attack on Israel, we are holding Iran to account and exposing those who facilitated these acts," British Foreign Secretary David Lammy said. "Alongside allies and partners, we will continue to take necessary measures to challenge Iran's unacceptable threats and press for de-escalation across the region."

Dozens of plots to kill or kidnap Iranians on British soil have been foiled by UK authorities in recent years, while Iran International journalist Pouria Zeraati was stabbed in Wimbledon, south London, on March 29. British dual citizens, including Nazanin Zargari-Ratcliffe, have also been detained by Iranian authorities in moves the UK government says are politically motivated.