Italy pushes for EU clampdown on Iran's Revolutionary Guard over 'heinous acts’

Italy's Push for EU Sanctions on Iran's Revolutionary Guard

ROME, Jan 26 (Reuters) - Italy will ask European Union partners this week to place Iran's Revolutionary Guard (IRGC) on the EU's terrorist register, Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said on Monday, signalling a shift in Rome's position.

Until now, Rome had been among the governments resisting efforts to brand the IRGC as a terrorist group, but Tajani said a bloody Iranian crackdown on street protests this month that reportedly killed thousands of people could not be ignored.

"The losses suffered by the civilian population during the protests require a clear response," Tajani wrote on X, adding he would raise the issue on Thursday at a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels.

Background on the Revolutionary Guard

"I will propose, coordinating 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."

Responses from EU Member States

Being branded a terrorist group would trigger a set of legal, financial, and diplomatic measures that would significantly constrain the IRGC's ability to operate in Europe.

Set up after Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution, the IRGC holds great sway in the country, controlling swathes of the economy and armed forces, and is also in charge of Iran's ballistic missile and nuclear programmes.

Potential Implications of Designation

While some EU member states have previously pushed for the IRGC to be listed, others have been more cautious, fearing that it could lead to a complete break in ties with Iran, harming any chance of reviving nuclear talks and jeopardising any hope of getting EU nationals released from Iranian jails.

However, Iran's violent crackdown on protests has revived the debate and added momentum to discussions about adding the IRGC, which is already included in the bloc's human rights sanctions regime, to the EU terrorist list.

Italian, French and Spanish diplomats raised qualms during a meeting in Brussels earlier this month about adding the IRGC to the list, EU diplomats told Reuters at the time.

If France continues to object, then the move to sanction the IRGC will fail, diplomats have said.

(Reporting by Crispian Balmer, Lili Bayer and John Irish, Editing by William Maclean)