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Iran has declared the armies of European countries “terrorist groups” after the European Union listed Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organisation.
Iran’s parliament speaker, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, announced the decision on Sunday.
Ghalibaf said the move was based on a 2019 Iranian law passed after the United States first designated the Guards as a terrorist group.
Under that law, he said, “the armies of European countries are considered terrorist groups.”
It was not immediately clear what the decision would mean in practice.
During the parliamentary session, lawmakers wore green uniforms linked to the Guards in a show of support.
State television showed them chanting slogans including “Death to America,” “Death to Israel,” and “Shame on you, Europe.”
The session took place on the 47th anniversary of the return from exile of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, who led Iran’s 1979 revolution.
The IRGC is a powerful branch of Iran’s military and is tasked with protecting the Islamic system.
Western governments accuse it of leading a violent crackdown on recent protests that reportedly left thousands dead. Iran has blamed the unrest on what it calls “terrorist acts” backed by the United States and Israel.
The EU decision last week followed similar moves by Canada and Australia.
Ghalibaf said Europe’s decision, “which was carried out in compliance with the orders of the American president and the leaders of the Zionist regime, accelerated Europe’s path to becoming irrelevant in the future world order.”
He added that the move would only increase public support for the Guards.
Iran’s decision comes amid rising tensions between Iran and the United States. US President Donald Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform that “a massive armada is heading to Iran.”
Trump added that “hopefully Iran will quickly come to the table and negotiate a fair and equitable deal — NO NUCLEAR WEAPONS.”
Iran claims to be amenable to nuclear negotiations, but only if its defence and missile programmes are not brought up.
On Saturday, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian declared that neither Iran nor the United States nor the larger region would gain from war.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran has never sought, and in no way seeks, war, and it is firmly convinced that a war would be in the interest of neither Iran nor the United States nor the region,” Pezeshkian said.
