Israel to UK: Designate Iran's IRGC as a terror organization
"Such a step would send an unequivocal message to the Iranian terrorist regime against the terrorist activities it leads in the Middle East and around the world."
Israel called on the United Kingdom to designate the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps as a terror organization after Foreign Minister Eli Cohen met with the British Minister of State for the Middle East Lord Tariq Ahmad in Jerusalem on Wednesday.
“I expressed my hope that the UK would soon declare the IRGC as a terror organization,” he said.
Such a step would send an “unequivocal message to the Iranian terrorist regime against the terrorist activities it leads in the Middle East and around the world,” Cohen added.
Such a step would send an “unequivocal message to the Iranian terrorist regime against the terrorist activities it leads in the Middle East and around the world,
Cohen
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israel have pushed for global recognition of the IRGC as a terror organization, but to date, only the United States, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia have done so.
The issue, however, has gained traction in Europe in response to the Islamic Republic’s execution of protesters against the regime.
Cohen has brought the issue up in all his conversations with international diplomats who have called to congratulate him since he took office last week.
Other countries considering proscribing IRGC
Those included calls with the Netherlands, Germany, Estonia and Austria, as well as with British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly – set to visit Israel soon.
France’s Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday it had not ruled out the idea that the European Union would designate the IRGC as a terrorist organization, a day after Germany said the move would be politically important and make sense.
Given the continuation of this repression, France is working with its European partners on new sanctions measures, French Foreign Ministry spokesperson Anne-Claire Legendre told reporters in a daily briefing when asked whether Paris supported designating the IRGC.
Germany’s Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock on Monday said that a new round of sanctions would not be enough.
“Listing the Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist organization is politically important and makes sense,” she said on Twitter, adding that legal hurdles still needed to be cleared before it could be done.
Designating the IRGC as a terrorist group would mean that it would become a criminal offense to belong to the group, attend its meetings and carry its logo in public.
Set up after Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution to protect the Shi’ite clerical ruling system, the Guards have great sway in Iran’s political system, controlling swathes of the economy and armed forces and being in charge of Iran’s ballistic missile and nuclear programs.
https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/iran-news/article-728270