By John Irish and Michel Rose
PARIS, Jan 28 (Reuters) - France will now support the inclusion of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) on the European list of terrorist organisations, a move that Paris has always been hesitant to back for fear that it could cut ties with Iran.
European Union foreign ministers meet in Brussels on Thursday and were already due to sign off on new sanctions in response to a crackdown on protests that has seen thousands killed and thousands more arrested.
But even until earlier on Wednesday, France had been hesitant to back the majority in the bloc, who have pushed to add the IRGC to the EU’s terrorist organisation list following the United States.
“The unbearable repression of the peaceful uprising of the Iranian people cannot go unanswered. The extraordinary courage they have shown in the face of the blind violence unleashed upon them cannot be in vain,” Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said on X, adding that France would now back the listing.
The French presidency had earlier announced the decision.
Set up after Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution to protect the Shi’ite clerical ruling system, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has great sway in the country, controlling swathes of the economy and armed forces, and was put in charge of Iran’s ballistic missile and nuclear programmes.
With France, Italy and Germany now in favour, the decision is likely to be approved politically on Thursday.
While some EU member states have previously pushed for the IRGC to be added to the EU’s terrorist list, others, led by France have been more cautious.
They have feared that it could lead to a complete break in ties with Iran, impacting diplomatic missions, but also hurting negotiations to release European citizens held in Iranian prisons.
Paris has been especially worried about the fate of two of its citizens currently living at the embassy in Tehran after being released from prison last year.
Anti-government protests that swept across Iran since December have triggered the bloodiest crackdown by authorities since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, drawing international condemnation.
Other diplomats backing the move said the magnitude of the crackdown meant Europe had to send a very strong political signal given the IRGC’s role in the clampdown, but also its activities overseas, which they said was tantamount to terrorist activity.
“If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck then it’s probably a duck and it’s good to call that out,” said one senior EU diplomat.
(Reporting by Michel Rose; Writing by Benoit Van Overstraeten; Editing by Sudip Kar-Gupta and Toby Chopra)
