TEHRAN – An Iranian lawmaker has said that Iran’s response to the European Parliament’s resolution on the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) caused the EU to back down on the IRGC listing. 

The lawmaker, Jalal Rashidi Kouchi, told ICANA that the resolution was met with a serious response from Iran. The European Parliament understood that we will not hesitate to decisively respond to this resolution, Kouchi said. 

He was commenting on recent remarks by EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell who said that the EU cannot designate the IRGC as a terrorist group just because they don’t like it. 

“Iran's reaction to Europe's wrong action regarding calling the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist caused them to reconsider their behavior,” the lawmaker said. 

He added, “I believe that we should give a firm message to Europe that the cost of such a work will definitely be much higher for Europe than for Iran. Europe should know that its conditions are different from America. It seems to have understood this difference to some extent.”

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian has highlighted the risks associated with the IRGC designation for Europe in an opinion piece for Al Jazeera. “Branding the IRGC a ‘terrorist organization’ would be a colossal mistake on the part of the EU – a mistake Iran cannot be expected to ignore. Such a designation would encroach upon Iran’s sovereignty, flouting international law and the Charter of the United Nations. Such a serious escalation would further undermine Europe’s trustworthiness in matters related to international security and have profound implications for the interests of European countries in the Middle East region,” he wrote. “Therefore, it is of paramount importance that rationality prevails within the European foreign policy establishment to avert another crisis.”

He stated, “Designating the IRGC as a terrorist organization would have many unwanted legal and political consequences for all involved parties. This is why it is our conviction that dialogue and diplomacy is the best path forward. Constructive engagement between Iran and Europe is essential for finding sustainable solutions to disagreements and clarifying misunderstandings. Engagement begets more engagement. Threats, on the other hand, will be met by a commensurate reaction.”