Italy has called on the European Union to place the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps on its terrorist register, as Rome changed its position after the latest brutal crackdown on public protests in Iran.
Until now, Italy's government was among those resisting efforts to designate the IRGC terrorists but Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani on Monday said the way street demonstrations were crushed this month could not be ignored.
"The losses suffered by the civilian population during the protests require a clear response," Mr Tajani wrote on X. He said he would raise the issue on Thursday at a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels.
"I will propose, co-ordinating with other partners, the inclusion of the Revolutionary Guards on the list of terrorist organisations, as well as individual sanctions against those responsible for these heinous acts," he said.
Branding the IRGC a terrorist group would trigger a set of legal, financial and diplomatic measures that would significantly affect Iranian operations in Europe.
Italian, French and Spanish diplomats raised qualms at a meeting in Brussels this month about adding the IRGC to the list. Speaking last week, a senior EU official said "unanimity was required for that decision and we're not there". Set up after Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution, the IRGC holds great sway in the country and is also in charge of the regime's ballistic missile and nuclear programmes.
While some EU member countries have previously pushed for the IRGC to be designated, others have been more cautious, fearing such a listing could lead to a complete break in ties with Iran, harming any chance of reviving nuclear talks and jeopardising any hope of EU citizens being released from Iranian jails.
However, Iran's violent crackdown on protests has revived the debate and added momentum to discussions about adding the IRGC, already under the bloc's human rights sanctions programme, to the EU terrorist list.
Italy, Germany, France and Spain have previously banned the Iran-based Mahan Airlines for transporting military equipment and personnel to Middle East war zones. It was then sanctioned, alongside two other airlines, by the EU last year for apparently supporting Russia's war in Ukraine.
