Iran International was the first to report December 14 that the Foreign Affairs Committee of the British parliament is planning to draft a bill that would designate the entirety of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps as a terrorist organization. 

Jason Brodsky, the director of United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) in an interview with Iran International said there is a good possibility for such a decision to be taken not just by the UK, but soon by the entire European Union. 

In fact, the Foreign Affairs Committee on December 16 officially sent its recommendation to the UK parliament.

“I think it’s a significant step ahead. This builds upon the public support that several [British] MPs have given to prescribing the IRGC as a terrorist organization under the terrorism act of 2000. And I think little by little, this is gaining more traction in London,” Brodsky says.

According to Brodsky, such a decision would have sufficient historical evidence behind it: “There are enough grounds for IRGC to be designated as a terrorist organization. It all harkens back to Britain’s experience with Iran in the 1980s. When the IRGC kidnapped Edward Chaplin, who was the UK Charge d'affaires in Tehran and beat him. Then in 2007, Peter Moore was kidnapped, a UK national, and British security guards were also killed in Iraq in 2007.”

Peter Moore was a British IT expert who was kidnapped by the Iran-backed Asaib Ahl al-Haq in 2007 in Iraq. He was released in 2009 but his captors killed his four British bodyguards.

“Then we have in 2016, a group of Iranian media outlets including Fars News which is linked to the IRGC raising the bounty for the British author Salman Rushdie. Then as late as September 2020, a UK diplomatic vehicle was targeted by IED attack in Iraq,” Brodsky added. “So there is more than enough grounds here, to designate IRGC as a terrorist organization. And I think it would increase the UK’s leverage in negotiations with the Islamic Republic.”

Brodsky attributes to a large extent this change in the West’s view of IRGC to the Trump administration’s leadership and policies toward Iran and believes that there will be more changes to come.

“I think the Trump administration with its designation of IRGC as a terrorist organization has really sparked Europe to think differently about Iran’s axis of resistance. We have seen increasing momentum in Europe, specifically the designation of Hezbollah as a terrorist organization in its entirety, while previously only its military wing had been designated as a terrorist organization. But now UK, Germany, many other countries in the region are designating it as a terrorist organization and that has happened as a result of US leadership and convincing its allies in Europe to follow its lead on Iran’s axis of resistance. So I think this is really setting the table for serious trans-Atlantic cooperation on how to deal with the Iranian threat.”

However, Brodsky also admits that Europe is miles behind the US in its attitude toward the Islamic Republic and its proxies and activities in the world. He believes once the EU changes its attitude, it will have a better standing in negotiation with Iran.

“I think there’s a long way to go for the EU to follow suit. I think the EU first has to designate Hezbollah in its entirety as a terrorist organization, which it hasn’t to date. France even hasn’t designated Hezbollah, and it is beyond overdue for that step to take place, following Germany, and the UK, and other countries. I think once Hezbollah is designated as a terrorist organization in its entirety the EU will take a hard look, and it’s in the EU’s best interest to do so because it will increase its bargaining position with Iran, and also enable it to join forces with the US and strengthening its hand at the negotiating table.”

He concluded: I think Europe has a real opportunity to crack down on these IRGC tentacles that endanger its own citizens’ security.