Brussels Protesters Call For Listing Of IRGC As Terrorist Entity

Hundreds of Iranians have taken to the streets of Brussels to voice support for nationwide protests in Iran and urge the European Union to designate the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organization.

The February 20 demonstration comes as EU foreign ministers are set to discuss new sanctions on the Islamic Republic over its bloody crackdown on five months of anti-government protests.

"Judges, prison workers, people who sentence others to death, dozens of them will get on the list," Luxembourg's Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn said before the meeting.

شهر بروکسل شاهد تجمع کسترده ایرانیان در حمایت از اعتراضات سراسری است. شرکت کنندگان در این تجمع خواهان تروریستی اعلام کردن سپاه شده و شعار مرگ بر جمهوری اسلامی سر دادند.#اعتراضات_سراسری #اعتصابات_سراسری #مهسا_امینی #شهروندخبرنگار pic.twitter.com/XfOUALFKKl

— ایران وایر (@iranwire) February 20, 2023

Videos shared on social media show the protesters holding pre-revolution national flags and chanting slogans such as "The IRGC is a terrorist" and "Death to the Islamic Republic."

The rally was attended by prominent opposition figures, including U.S.-Iranian activist Masih Alinejad and Hamed Esmaeilion, the spokesperson of the Association of Families of Flight PS752 Victims.

شماری از چهره‌های شناخته شده مخالف جمهوری اسلامی، از جمله حامد اسماعیلیون و مسیح علی‌نژاد، و نیز نمایندگان ایرانی پارلمان‌های اروپایی از جمله علیرضا آخوندی و دریا صفایی در صف اول تظاهرات امروز حضور یافتند.#اعتراضات_سراسری #اعتصابات_سراسری #مهسا_امینی #شهروندخبرنگار pic.twitter.com/ptidIJCpRg

— ایران وایر (@iranwire) February 20, 2023

The EU has already imposed four rounds of sanctions on the Islamic Republic since the protests broke out across Iran in September 2022.

Last month, the European Parliament overwhelmingly voted to call on the EU to recognize the IRGC and its affiliates, blaming the organization for the repression of protesters and for supplying drones to Russia's military for use in Ukraine.

The IRGC controls large swathes of Iran’s economy and armed forces and is in charge of the Islamic Republic's ballistic missile and nuclear programs.