In major reversal, France now supports move to put Iran’s IRGC on EU terrorism list
PARIS — France will now support the inclusion of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps on the European list of terrorist organizations, a move that Paris has always been hesitant to back for fear that it could cut ties with Iran.
European Union foreign ministers are set to meet in Brussels on Thursday and were already due to sign off on new sanctions in response to a crackdown on protests that has seen thousands killed and thousands more arrested.
But even until earlier on Wednesday, France had been hesitant to back the majority in the bloc, who have pushed to add the IRGC to the EU’s terrorist organization list following the United States.
“The unbearable repression of the peaceful uprising of the Iranian people cannot go unanswered. The extraordinary courage they have shown in the face of the blind violence unleashed upon them cannot be in vain,” Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said on X, adding that France would now back the listing.
The French presidency had earlier announced the decision.
Set up after Iran’s 1979........
