Iran has declared the armies of European countries “terrorist groups” in retaliation for the European Union’s decision to designate the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organisation.
Speaking during a parliamentary session on Sunday, Iran’s parliament speaker, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, said the move was based on a 2019 law authorising countermeasures against countries that label the IRGC as terrorists. Lawmakers wore IRGC uniforms in a show of solidarity, chanting anti-American, anti-Israeli, and anti-European slogans.
The session coincided with the 47th anniversary of the return from exile of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, founder of the Islamic Republic. Ghalibaf accused Europe of acting on the orders of the United States and Israel, warning that the decision would accelerate Europe’s “irrelevance” in the global order while strengthening domestic support for the Guards.
The IRGC, Iran’s powerful ideological military force, has been blamed by Western governments for leading a deadly crackdown on recent protests. Tehran, however, insists the unrest was fuelled by foreign-backed “terrorist acts.”
The standoff comes amid renewed tensions between Iran and the United States, with both sides exchanging threats of possible military action while signalling openness to dialogue. Regional actors, including Qatar and Egypt, have stepped in to push for de-escalation, as ordinary Iranians express growing fear over the prospect of conflict.
