Iran said Monday it had summoned all European Union ambassadors in the Islamic Republic to protest the bloc’s decision to list the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist organization, a move that could heighten diplomatic tensions between Tehran and Brussels.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei told journalists the ambassadors were summoned on Sunday in response to the EU listing of the Revolutionary Guard, also known as the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps or IRGC, as a terror group.
The EU’s designation last week targets the Guard over its role in the violent crackdown on nationwide protests in January, according to the Associated Press. The measure places the group on the bloc’s terrorism list, aligning the move with similar designations by the United States and Canada.
Baghaei’s comments were brief and did not outline specific diplomatic penalties beyond the summoning of envoys. Iranian officials have framed the EU decision as a hostile act, though no formal retaliatory measures were detailed in the ministry’s statement.
The EU’s terror listing of the Revolutionary Guard comes amid widespread international scrutiny of Iran’s handling of protests that erupted in late December, which Western officials have criticized for severe repression. The Guard is a powerful branch of Iran’s armed forces, with extensive influence in both military and economic spheres.
Diplomatic relations between Iran and the EU are now under strain as European capitals consider further responses to Tehran’s actions and rhetoric following the designation.