Iran Warns Europe Against Blacklisting IRGC
Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Nasser Kana'ani cautioned Germany over its initiative to place the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) on the terror list, cautioning that banning Islamic Republic’s official military body is completely illegal.
Kana’ani said in his weekly news briefing on Monday that Berlin’s possible move over classifing the IRGC as a “terrorist organization” and imposing sanctions on the elite forces is a result of the “wrong” approach of the German government.
“The IRGC is an official military organization of Iran and targeting it with sanctions is unlawful,” the spokesperson noted.
“If such an action is taken, it will continue the non-constructive and irresponsible moves of these countries in relation to Iran and due to the continuation of their wrong approach in relation to the government and people of Iran,” Kana’ani added.
The Iranian diplomat expressed hope that the German and other governments are aware of the result of their “unconstructive and irresponsible” measures and do not sacrifice their mutual interests for “short-term political benefits”.
His comments came after German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock stated on Sunday that her country and the European Union were examining whether to classify the IRGC as a “terrorist organization”.
Germany last week announced it was tightening entry restrictions on Iran beyond an already announced EU sanctions package.
Her reamrks come after Commander of the IRGC Major General Hossein Salami advised the rioting students to return to the nation and “don’t play into the hands of enemies”.
“Do not come to the streets! Today is the last day of the riots,” he stated on Saturday.
Protests erupted in several cities across Iran over the death of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old Iranian woman who fainted at a police station in mid-September and days later was pronounced dead at a hospital. The demonstrations soon turned violent.
An official report by Iran’s Legal Medicine Organization announced that Amini’s controversial death was caused by an illness rather than alleged blows to the head or other vital body organs.
Iranian officials blame Western countries for orchestrating the riots to destabilize the country.
Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei severely censured the deadly riots, saying they were orchestrated in advance by the United States and the Israeli regime.
“I state it clearly that these developments were planned by America, the Zionist regime and their acolytes. Their main problem is with a strong and independent Iran and the country’s progress. The Iranian nation proved to be fairly strong during recent events and will bravely come onto the scene wherever necessary in the future,” he added.
In recent days, Iranian officials have blamed the United States, the European Unions, and several Western states for meddling in Iran’s internal affairs over the death of Mahsa. They advised the US and its allies against “opportunism and instrumentalization of the issue of human rights” by misusing the incident.
Tehran reminded that the countries, which, themselves, towed a “long history of warmongering and violence” throughout the world, lacked the legitimacy that could authorize them to “moralize others” concerning the human rights.
