"The IRGC is the most powerful branch of Iran's armed forces, operating independently of the regular military and answering directly to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. Established by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini in 1979 to safeguard the Islamic revolution, it has since evolved into a multi-service force with its own ground forces, navy, air force, intelligence units, and special forces."
"The decision on January 29 came after Iran's deadly crackdown on recent antiestablishment protests that engulfed the country, posing one of the gravest challenges to the Islamic republic. The US-based rights group HRANA has verified 6,373 deaths with over 17,000 cases still under review. Some estimates put the death toll in the tens of thousands. "The scale of killing inside Iran really did cross a threshold," said Ellie Geranmayeh, senior policy fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations."
The EU foreign ministers designated Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organization after France shifted position on January 28, paving the way for the formal decision on January 29. The United States, Canada, and Australia had already designated the IRGC as a terrorist organization, while Germany and the Netherlands had pushed the EU to follow. The IRGC operates independently from Iran's regular military, answers to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, and includes the Basij and the Quds Force. The IRGC commands roughly 180,000 troops, exerts military and economic power, and has been implicated in repression and destabilizing activities. The designation followed a deadly government crackdown on nationwide protests, with HRANA verifying 6,373 deaths and thousands more cases under review.
Read at RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty
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