EU Finally Designates Iran’s Deadly IRGC A Terrorist Organization

In a major shift in European foreign policy, the Council of the European Union formally announced on Thursday that it has added the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to the EU terrorist list.

The decision follows a preliminary political agreement reached by the Foreign Affairs Council in late January and marks a definitive end to months of internal diplomatic friction. The designation triggers an immediate suite of restrictive measures under the EU’s counterterrorism sanctions regime. Effective Friday, all funds, financial assets, and economic resources belonging to the IRGC within EU member states will be frozen. Furthermore, EU operators are now strictly prohibited from making any funds or economic resources available to the group. This move expands the EU terrorist list to include 13 individuals and 23 groups and entities.

It’s official: the EU has finally designated #Iran‘s regime’s IRGC as a terrorist organization. #IRGCterroristshttps://t.co/G7Y3ERj75z pic.twitter.com/49eNrOVbXs

— Jason Brodsky (@JasonMBrodsky) February 19, 2026

The path to this decision was fraught with contention. As recently as late January, reports indicated that France, Spain, and Italy had voiced legal reservations, effectively stalling the designation, which requires unanimous consent from all 27 member states. Critics, including Dutch MEP Bart Groothuis, had publicly blasted the holdouts, citing the IRGC’s role in crushing internal dissent and its involvement in extraterritorial operations, such as the targeting of synagogues in Germany.

The IRGC, which serves as the “praetorian guard” for Iran’s Supreme Leader, has been accused by international observers of extreme brutality. Reports from earlier this year suggested that IRGC and Basij forces used live ammunition against peaceful demonstrators, with some estimates citing over 15,000 deaths in January alone. Beyond Iran’s borders, the IRGC’s Quds Force has long been viewed by Western intelligence as a primary driver of state-sponsored terrorism.

The EU’s legal framework for this designation, rooted in Common Position 2001/931/CFSP, is distinct from UN-led sanctions against Al-Qaeda or ISIL. By utilizing its autonomous sanctions regime, the EU has now aligned its policy with the United States, Canada, Israel, and several Gulf nations that had previously designated the IRGC as a terrorist organization.

In a statement accompanying the regulation, the Council noted that “competent authorities” had provided the necessary legal basis for the listing, satisfied that the entity was involved in terrorist acts.

The regulation was signed in Brussels by Council President Marilena Raouna and is set to be binding across all member states upon publication in the Official Journal.