Today, 220 lawmakers from Europe, the United States, and Canada urged Western democracies to designate Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and its proxies, such as Hezbollah, as terrorist organizations. The legislators’ call for action against the regime’s state terrorism comes only days before EU foreign ministers are set to deliberate further measures against Tehran on Monday.

Spearheaded by the AJC-backed Transatlantic Friends of Israel (TFI), the interparliamentary statement was released amid the regime’s deadly crackdown on protesters, its escalating regional and global aggression, and a spike in acts of state terrorism, including the recent kidnapping and assassination attempts on U.S. soil against British-American author Salman Rushdie and Iranian-American journalist and women’s rights activist Masih Alinejad.

Additionally, the legislators expressed grave concern over Tehran‘s nuclear violations and material support for Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. “Iran’s growing alliance with Russia and its supply of advanced drones for Moscow’s brutal war against Ukraine further underline the danger the Islamic Republic poses not just to Middle Eastern, but also to Western security,” reads the statement.

Unlike regular armies designed to defend a country’s borders, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini founded the IRGC shortly after the Islamic Revolution in 1979 to defend the regime and spread its ideology. As such, they have become the mullahs’ shock troops overseeing Tehran’s global terror network and internal oppression.

The U.S. Co-Chairs of TFI, Reps. Brad Schneider (D-IL) and Andrew Garbarino (R-NY), led the initiative in Congress with the support of 27 bipartisan and bicameral members. 

The European Parliament leadership of TFI, including TFI President Anna-Michelle Asimakopoulou, Vice President David Lega, and Chair Lukas Mandl, sent the statement today to the European Commission, the European External Action Service, the European Council, and the governments of all 27 EU member states.

More here.