While the EU wants to take “concrete steps against authoritarian religious leadership”, Iran condemns the plans in the strongest possible terms. The chancellor speaks of “shooting in the foot”.
Iran has strongly condemned a possible terrorist listing of the Revolutionary Guards by the European Union. On Thursday, the foreign ministry described a corresponding European Parliament proposal as “reckless and wrong”. The project is “a shot in the foot,” Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian was quoted as saying in a statement. Meanwhile, the internet was restricted again.
The authorities justified the two-day bans planned to start this Thursday with an exam phase – the university entrance exams are awaited – and concerns about possible fraud. Residents of the capital Tehran confirmed massive restrictions on Thursday morning, which also affected online transfers. At the same time, some protest organizations called new demonstrations. It was initially unclear if the internet blocks were related to this. Again and again, Iran restricts the Internet before the protests.
Recently, street demonstrations in Iran have subsided again. Many opponents of the system are now voicing their protest against the government’s repressive course and the Islamic system of government through civil disobedience, such as ignoring the mandatory headscarf. The trigger for nationwide protests was the death of Iranian Kurd Jina Mahsa Amini in police custody in mid-September 2022. She had been arrested by the so-called deputy police for violating Islamic dress codes.
“Concrete Steps Against Authoritarian Religious Leadership”
On Wednesday, the EU Parliament called for the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to be added to the EU terrorist list. MEP Andreas Schieder (SPÖ) clearly supported demand on Thursday. “But it shouldn’t just stop with a condemnation, the EU must take concrete action against authoritarian religious leadership,” he said in a broadcast.
According to Schieder, the Iranian Revolutionary Guards must be on the EU terrorist list, there must be a ban on deportations and an unbureaucratic right of stay for Iranians. He also called for more sanctions from EU foreign ministers “to limit the scope of action of political and religious leaders and all those involved in state terrorism”. “The first and most urgent objective of EU diplomacy” is to prevent the execution of death sentences.
Iran’s elite military, established after the Islamic Revolution in 1979, has grown to become an economic powerhouse in recent decades. Criticism of the unit has been mounting for its role in quelling the recent wave of protests. Many Iranians and politicians in Europe are calling for the Revolutionary Guards to be classified as a terrorist organization. The US had already taken the step under Donald Trump in 2019. Given the numerous human rights violations since the demonstrations began in mid-September, the EU has already imposed sanctions on many high-ranking Revolutionary Guard officers.
(APA/dpa)