Brussels, 29 January 2026 (dpa/MIA) - EU foreign ministers have agreed to designate Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organization, top EU diplomat Kaja Kallas has said.

"Repression cannot go unanswered," Kallas wrote on X during a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels on Thursday.

"Any regime that kills thousands of its own people is working toward its own demise," Kallas said.

The joint position kicks off the legal procedure to formalize the designation which is considered largely symbolic as the IRGC is already sanctioned by the EU for human rights violations.

With some EU ministers suggesting that up to 30,000 people could have been killed in the violent crackdown on demonstrations that have swept Iran, pressure has mounted on the European Union to move ahead with the designation.

The listing as a terrorist organization "was long overdue," said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

"'Terrorist' is indeed how you call a regime that crushes its own people’s protests in blood," said von der Leyen.

"Europe stands with the people of Iran in their brave fight for freedom."

The move became possible after France announced on Wednesday evening, after a long blockade, that it would support the step demanded by Berlin and some other capitals.

"The unbearable oppression that has been unleashed on the peaceful uprising of the Iranian people cannot go unanswered," French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said on Thursday ahead of the decision.

"There can be no impunity for the crimes committed," he said.

German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul welcomed the "overdue" decision in a statement.

"The Iranian Revolutionary Guards and their auxiliary forces are the henchmen of the Iranian regime," he said.

"They are the ones who act with immeasurable brutality against their own people, who have literally executed their own citizens because they dared to raise their voices in the streets," Wadephul said.

Earlier on Thursday, the EU imposed asset freezes and travel bans on around 30 Iranian individuals and entities as a response to the brutal oppression of anti-government protests and Tehran's continued support for Russia's war against Ukraine.

The targeted individuals include Iranian Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni, members of the judicial system including Prosecutor General Mohammad Movahedi-Azad and Presiding Judge Iman Afshari, several IRGC commanders and law enforcement officials, a press release said.

The sanctioned organizations "were involved in censoring activities, trolling campaigns on social media, spreading disinformation and misinformation online, or contributed to the widespread disruption of access to the internet by developing surveillance and repression tools."

The targeted bodies include the Iranian Audio-Visual Media Regulatory Authority (SATRA), the Working Group for Determining Instances of Criminal Content (WGDICC) and several software companies, the press release said.

Photo: European Council