Iran decries European plan to designate IRGC as terrorist group

ISTANBUL

Iran’s Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi on Wednesday criticized a draft law by the European Union Parliament to add the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) on the terrorist list.

"Some in the West want to do something outside the international rules and describe an official force (the IRGC) as terrorist, and this shows their intellectual, moral and political weakness," Vahidi told reporters following a government meeting.

He asserted that the issue is not a matter of concern to Tehran.

The EU is reportedly preparing to designate the IRGC as a terrorist group in coordination with the UK.

On Tuesday, a demonstration took place in the French city of Strasbourg demanding the EU to place the IRGC on the terror list.

Following the protest, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen expressed her support to the call, adding that there are plans to impose sanctions on Iran.

Last month, the EU imposed sanctions on 24 Iranian officials and five organizations.

*Writing by Mahmoud Barakat