BRUSSELS (Dispatches) -- The European Union cannot list Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist entity because no EU court has ruled it is, the European Union’s foreign policy chief said on Monday.
In a political move, the European Parliament has called on the EU to list the IRGC as a terrorist entity.
“It is something that cannot be decided without a court, a court decision first. You cannot say I consider you a terrorist because I don’t like you,” Josep Borrell told reporters as he arrived for the meeting of foreign ministers in Brussels.
He added that the court of an EU member had to issue a concrete legal condemnation before the EU itself could act.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani said the Europeans had been served the “necessary warnings”, referring to a phone call held between Iranian Foreign Minister Hussein Amir-Abdollahian and Borrell as well as the foreign minister of Sweden, which holds the presidency of Council of the European Union.
The EU plan aims to restrict “a great anti-terror force”, he said, reiterating Iran’s pledge to give an “appropriate” response to any “reckless” action by European countries.
Iran on Sunday warned the European Union it would take “reciprocal” measures after the European Parliament voted to blacklist the IRGC.
“The parliament is working to place elements of European countries’ armies on the terrorist list” of the Islamic Republic, Amir-Abdollahian said on Twitter, adding that the Europeans had shot themselves “in the foot”.
Later asked if Iran would consider withdrawing from the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) or expel United Nations nuclear inspectors, Amir-Abdollahian said all options were on the table.
If European diplomats “who have no experience in diplomacy... do not correct their positions, every possibility is conceivable”, he was quoted as saying by IRNA.
Iran’s parliament speaker Muhammad Baqer Qalibaf also said on Sunday that the legislature would “retaliate immediately and decisively” if the EU upholds and ratifies the European Parliament’s vote.
Qalibaf, who is himself a former commander of the IRGC air force, added that parliament would “recognize the armies of the European countries... as terrorist groups”.
The United States, known for sponsoring terrorist groups, has already placed both the IRGC and its foreign arm, the Quds Force, on its list of “foreign terrorist organizations”.
Gen. Salami on Saturday praised sacrifices made by the IRGC, particularly the Quds Force and its late commander General Qassem Soleimani, saying the top anti-terror icon “played the biggest and most leading role in eliminating worldwide terrorism”.
“As for the IRGC’s endeavors, especially the Quds Force and the leadership of Martyr Soleimani, the volcano of terrorism created by the Americans would have engulfed the Europeans and the security that prevails in Europe today would have been destroyed,” the IRGC chief said.
Relations between the 27-nation EU and Tehran have deteriorated during stalled efforts to revive talks on returning Washington to a 2015 nuclear deal and removing sanctions on the Islamic Republic.
Sweden, which currently holds the EU’s rotating presidency, said the bloc’s foreign ministers meeting in Brussels on Monday “adopted a new package of sanctions” against Iran.
The bloc targeted the minister of sports and the IRGC command in 12 regions of Iran in its fourth round of sanctions, the EU’s official journal said.
Lawmakers, senior state media officials and the head of the body setting the country’s dress code rules were also added to the list.
Similarly, the U.S. Treasury Department in a statement said it designated the IRGC Cooperative Foundation.
Also targeted were five of its board members, the deputy minister of intelligence and security, and four senior IRGC commanders in Iran, the Treasury said.