Iran Threatens to Label EU Armed Forces as Terrorists in Retaliatory Move
DUBAI, January 30 (Reuters) — In a sharp escalation of tensions, Iran declared on Tuesday its intention to formally designate the armed forces of European Union nations as "terrorist organizations." The move comes as a direct retaliatory measure against the EU's recent decision to blacklist Iran's elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
The announcement was made by senior Iranian security official Ali Larijani in a post on the social media platform X. "The legal and political consequences of this reciprocal action will squarely fall upon the European countries that initiated this provocative measure," Larijani stated, signaling a hardening of Tehran's stance.
The IRGC, a powerful military, economic, and political force within Iran, was designated as a terrorist entity by the European Parliament in 2023. Iran has consistently condemned the move as an illegal and politically motivated intervention in its internal affairs. Analysts view Tehran's latest threat as a symbolic tit-for-tat maneuver, unlikely to involve military action but designed to signal diplomatic defiance and rally domestic support.
This reciprocal labeling threatens to further isolate Iran from Western nations and could complicate any future negotiations concerning its nuclear program or regional activities. The EU has yet to issue an official response to the Iranian threat.
Reactions & Analysis
"This is a predictable but dangerous rhetorical spiral," said David Chen, a senior fellow at the Center for European Policy Analysis. "It erodes the already minimal trust needed for dialogue and pushes both sides into performative, hardline positions that serve domestic audiences more than they address real security issues."
Anya Petrova, a former diplomat now with the International Crisis Group, offered a more measured take: "While largely symbolic, this step formalizes the hostility. It closes doors for quiet diplomacy and makes de-escalation more bureaucratically difficult. The focus now should be on preventing any unintended military miscalculation in the region."
The sharpest criticism came from Marcus Thorne, a security columnist for The Sentinel. "It's an absurd, desperate stunt from a regime running out of ideas," he said. "Equating the professional armies of democratic nations with a designated terrorist group like the IRGC isn't just false equivalence—it's an insult to victims of terrorism worldwide and shows Tehran's complete disregard for international norms. The EU must not flinch."