Senior Cleric: Enemy Moves Make IRGC Stronger

Addressing Tehran’s Friday prayers, Hojjatoleslam Seddiqi said, “Enemies should know that such actions will make the IRGC become stronger.

The senior cleric further condemned the desecration of the Holy Quran in certain European countries, and said that the insult showed the true face of Western countries who claim to be human rights advocates.

On January 18, the European Parliament’s members backed an amendment added to an annual foreign policy report, calling for “the EU and its member states to include the IRGC in the EU’s terror list”. The step was passed by a vote of 598 in favor and nine against, with 31 abstentions.

The move has been strongly condemned by Iranian officials, commanders and the Armed Forces.

The amendment will urge Brussels to blacklist the IRGC military force, the volunteer Basij force, and the IRGC’s Quds Force.

Tehran has repeatedly announced that the IRGC is an official state body which has had and will continue to have an important and key role in ensuring the security of Iran and the region.

Iranian officials have recently warned the EU that its plan to blacklist the IRGC as a “terrorist organization” may have unbearable consequences and ruin any chance of negotiations.

They cautioned the European governments against falling into the trap of a plot hatched by the US and Israel, calling on the EU to maintain its independence from the US.

The Iranian parliament passed a law in April 2019 designating American forces in West Asia, known as the United States Central Command (CENTCOM), as a terrorist organization. The move was made in response to the US blacklisting of the IRGC.