Israel hails EU's 'historic' decision to blacklist Iran's IRGC as terror group
The EU’s top diplomat said the designation will put the regime “on the same footing” with al-Qaeda, Hamas and the Islamic State
The European Union on Thursday announced the blacklisting of Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist organization, following Tehran’s bloody crackdown on nationwide protests against the Islamic regime.
Israel's Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar hailed the designation as “historic,” as other Israeli officials pointed out that the designation would make it easier to prosecute members of the IRGC.
The EU’s top diplomat Kaja Kallas said foreign ministers in the 27-nation bloc unanimously agreed on the designation, which she said will put the regime “on the same footing” with al-Qaeda, Hamas and the Islamic State.
“Those who operate through terror must be treated as terrorists,” Kallas said. “Any regime that kills thousands of its own people is working toward its own demise."
Other countries, including the U.S. and Canada, have previously designated the Guard as a terrorist organization.
Iran also faces the threat of U.S. military action in response to the killing of peaceful demonstrators and over possible mass executions. The American military has moved the USS Abraham Lincoln and several guided-missile destroyers into the Mideast. It remains unclear whether President Donald Trump will decide to use force.
Iran issued a warning to ships at sea Thursday that it planned to run a drill next week that would include live firing in the Strait of Hormuz, potentially disrupting traffic through a waterway that sees 20% of all the world’s oil pass through it.