European diplomats informed the German news agency dpa on Monday, May 27th, that several EU countries, including Germany, are pushing to designate Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organization. This move is based on a court ruling in Düsseldorf, Germany.
German Court Ruling Links IRGC to Synagogue Attack
Germany, along with several other nations, has requested the European Union’s legal authorities to examine the verdict of the Düsseldorf court.
The ruling indicates that an Iranian government agency was responsible for an arson attack on a synagogue in the city of Bochum.
EU diplomats informed dpa that the EU’s legal service has confirmed that the court sentence could be sufficient grounds for the terrorist designation.
This development came to light on the sidelines of the EU foreign ministers’ meeting in Brussels.
Growing Support for IRGC Terrorist Listing
According to the information obtained, following the analysis by the European Union’s legal service, multiple EU countries have now supported initiating the necessary procedural steps to classify the IRGC as a terrorist organization.
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has repeatedly stated her agreement with placing the IRGC on the terrorist list.
However, it remains unclear whether the required unanimous decision among the 27 EU member states can be achieved for this purpose.
Iranian people’s Long-Standing Demand and Recent Developments
The Iranian people have long urged the European Union to designate the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organization. The court ruling in Düsseldorf has now taken a difficult and important step in this direction.
Designating a branch of the Iranian armed forces as a terrorist organization has been challenging until now, as the IRGC first needed to be prosecuted by a national institution for terrorist activities.
The difficulty in classifying the IRGC as a terrorist organization was highlighted after Iran directly attacked Israel with drones and missiles in April.
Until recently, the EU’s diplomatic service, led by Josep Borrell, doubted whether the Düsseldorf ruling met the prerequisites for this classification.
Concerns Over Nuclear Deal and Opposition
Josep Borrell, the European Union’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, has been known to oppose the classification of the IRGC as a terrorist organization within the EU.
One reason for this, as he claims, is the effort to persuade the Iranian regime to adhere to an agreement limiting the country’s nuclear program, aimed at preventing the regime from developing nuclear weapons.
The Iranian regime’s skeptical behavior regarding its nuclear program has been widely criticized due to the regime’s oppressive nature.
Such conduct by Borrell has only emboldened the regime to escalate its aggression and advance its nuclear ambitions, raising grave concerns within the international community.
Düsseldorf Court Verdict and Iranian Connection
The Düsseldorf court’s verdict, issued in December 2022, was related to an attack on a synagogue in Bochum, Germany.
An Iranian-German individual was sentenced to a total of two years and nine months in prison for conspiracy to commit severe arson and attempted arson.
The Düsseldorf court announced that he was hired for this job by a person in Iran named Ramin Yektaparast.
According to German security officials, Yektaparast was the leader of a criminal gang and cooperated with the Revolutionary Guards. He is also wanted in Germany for murder.
Source » irannewsupdate