Iran has declared the armies of European countries “terrorist groups” following the European Union’s decision to designate the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organisation.
The declaration was announced on Sunday by the Speaker of Iran’s Parliament, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, amid heightened tensions between Tehran and Western powers.
During Sunday’s legislative session, Iranian lawmakers wore green uniforms associated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in a show of solidarity with the military body.
State television footage showed legislators chanting slogans including “Death to America”, “Death to Israel,” and “Shame on you, Europe”.
Condemning what he described as Europe’s “irresponsible action”, Ghalibaf said Iran’s response was based on existing legislation.
“Under Article 7 of the Law on Countermeasures Against the Declaration of the IRGC as a Terrorist Organisation, the armies of European countries are considered terrorist groups,” he said.
However, it remained unclear what immediate practical consequences the declaration would have.
The law cited by Ghalibaf was originally passed in 2019 after the United States classified the Guards as a terrorist organisation.
Sunday’s parliamentary session coincided with the 47th anniversary of the return from exile of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the founder of the Islamic Republic, who led Iran’s 1979 revolution.
The Revolutionary Guards serve as the ideological arm of Iran’s military and are tasked with protecting the Islamic system from internal and external threats.
Western governments have accused the Guards of orchestrating a violent crackdown on recent protests in Iran that reportedly left thousands dead.
Tehran, however, has blamed the unrest on what it called “terrorist acts” incited by the United States and Israel.
The European Union agreed on Thursday to list the IRGC as a terrorist organisation over its response to the protests, aligning its position with similar classifications by the United States, Canada and Australia.
Ghalibaf accused Europe of acting at the behest of Washington and Israel.
“The 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 said.
He added that the move had only strengthened domestic support for the Guards within Iran.
The parliamentary session came amid renewed exchanges of warnings between Iran and the United States over the possibility of military confrontation.
Following Iran’s response to the protests, US President Donald Trump threatened intervention and ordered the deployment of an aircraft carrier group to the region.
In recent days, however, both sides have signalled a willingness to pursue dialogue.
Ali Larijani, head of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, said on Saturday that negotiations were progressing behind the scenes.
“Contrary to the hype of the contrived media war, structural arrangements for negotiations are progressing,” Larijani said.
Trump later confirmed that talks were ongoing but maintained his earlier warning.
“Iran is talking to us, and we’ll see if we can do something, otherwise we’ll see what happens… we have a big fleet heading out there,” he told Fox News.
Trump has previously said he believes Iran would prefer to strike a deal on its nuclear and missile programmes rather than face US military action.
Iran Sets Conditions For Nuclear Talks
Tehran has stated it is open to nuclear negotiations, provided its missile and defence capabilities are excluded from the agenda.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Saturday that conflict would benefit no one.
“A war would be in the interest of neither Iran, nor the United States, nor the region,” Pezeshkian said during a phone call with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, according to his office.
Qatar’s Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, also held talks in Iran on Saturday as part of efforts to de-escalate tensions, Qatar’s foreign ministry said.
Amid the escalating rhetoric, ordinary Iranians expressed concern about the possibility of conflict.
Firouzeh, a 43-year-old homemaker who declined to give her full name, said the tensions had left her deeply anxious.
“Lately, all I do is watch the news until I fall asleep. Sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night to check the updates,” she said.
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