Iran on Monday summoned European ambassadors in Tehran after the European Union officially designated the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organisation, a move that has sharply escalated tensions between Tehran and European capitals.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ismail Baghaei said representatives of all EU member states with embassies in Tehran were summoned on Sunday and Monday. Speaking at a press conference, he described the step as “the minimum response,” warning that additional measures would be announced soon in reaction to the European decision, according to Agence France-Presse.
Last Thursday, EU foreign ministers agreed to list the IRGC as a terrorist organisation, citing Iran’s handling of protests that have rocked the Islamic Republic. The decision marks one of the most significant escalations in EU-Iran relations in years.
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said in a post on X that repression could not go unanswered, adding that the bloc had taken a decisive step by designating the IRGC as a terrorist entity. She said any system that kills thousands of its own people is ultimately working toward its own downfall.
Iran’s armed forces strongly condemned the move, calling the designation “illogical and irresponsible” and saying it reflected the “depth of hostility” shown by the European Union toward the Islamic Republic. In a statement issued the same day, the military accused the EU of acting to satisfy Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, warning that the bloc would bear “direct responsibility for the severe consequences of this hostile and provocative decision.”
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