EU Just Redefined Terrorism - And It's Blown Up In Their Face

EU blacklists Iran’s IRGC as a terrorist organisation, breaking its own legal precedent and exposing a double standard the bloc will never fix.

Right, so the European Union has put the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, the IRGC on its terrorist list. And by doing that, the EU has changed what it can say without being challenged, has changed the definition of terrorism itself. It has said that a state military body, and all states have them in the name of defence, can meet the terrorism threshold. That removes a defence the EU has relied on for years, which is that terrorism only applies to non-state actors. Dissidents. Armed militias. Extremists. They just tossed that in the bin. From this point on, when the EU uses the word “terrorism”, it has to explain why that label applies in one case and not in others given equal weight. That explanation is no longer optional and they’re going to have a tough job doing so given what they cast a blind eye to. Yet it has to be given every time the standard is invoked. And explaining selective application is harder than issuing the label in the first place. It forces officials to justify exclusions rather than assert principles. That is the situation the EU has created for itself, and they deserve every bit of the fallout for their blatant hypocrisy.

Right, so the European Union hasn’t just sanctioned the IRGC, it has used its terrorism designation framework against it, and that matters because this is the first time the EU has used its terrorism designation framework against an official arm of a sovereign state’s armed forces. Until now, that list has been reserved for non-state actors, insurgent groups, armed movements, and individuals operating outside recognised state command structures. The EU has never before put a state military institution into that category. By doing it here, the EU has collapsed a distinction it previously relied on in such designations whether it cares to admit it or not. From this point on, terrorism is no longer a label that stops at the edge of state power. It has now been formally extended into it.

The EU's recent decision to list the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist entity marks a significant shift in its foreign policy and redefines the scope of what constitutes terrorism. This development has major implications for the middle east and could reshape international relations. Stay informed with the latest news and geopolitical analysis on this critical topic.