Funeral for IRGC Colonel Khodaei In Tehran
Funeral for IRGC Colonel Khodaei In TehranReuters/Morteza Nikoubazl/NurPhoto

A group of 220 lawmakers from Europe, the United States, and Canada on Thursday called for Western nations to designate Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and its proxies, such as Hezbollah, as terrorist organizations.

The interparliamentary group urged the listing as EU foreign ministers are set to deliberate further measures against Iran on Monday.

The statement, organized by Transatlantic Friends of Israel (TFI), expressed grave concern over Iran’s nuclear ambitions, acts of state terrorism, and recent kidnapping and assassination attempts on U.S. soil against author Salman Rushdie and Iranian-American activist Masih Alinejad.

The legislators also denounced Tehran for material support for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

“Iran’s growing alliance with Russia and its supply of advanced drones for Moscow's brutal war against Ukraine further underline the danger the Islamic Republic poses not just to Middle Eastern, but also to Western security,” the statement said.

The US co-chairs of TFI, Reps. Brad Schneider (D-IL) and Andrew Garbarino (R-NY), led the initiative in Congress with the support of 27 members from the House and Senate in both parties.

The European parliamentary leadership of TFI sent the statement today to the European Commission, the European External Action Service, the European Council, and the governments of all 27 EU member states.

The signatories include prime ministers, foreign ministers, defense ministers and parliamentary chairs.

According to the American Jewish Committee, which is supporting the initiative, the statement “highlights the inconsistencies between US, Canadian, UK and EU designations of terrorist organizations, underscoring the need for the US, Canada and European nations to act decisively and consistently to curb the Iranian regime’s aggression by designating the IRGC and its proxies as terrorists.”

Schneider said: “Iran’s escalating nefarious activities – including nuclear pursuits, ballistic missile development, and its support for regional and global terrorism – pose a serious threat to the stability of the Middle East and to security around the world. Particularly, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has served as the regime’s principal force in spreading internal and external terror, creating and funding terror networks.”

He added: “I stand firm with my colleagues in the Transatlantic Friends of Israel Inter-Parliamentary Group in advocating for sanctions against the IRGC and its designation as a terrorist organization. A strong, collaborative transatlantic partnership is urgently necessary to counter IRGC and stop its malign activities.”