Six months have passed since the death of Masha Jina Amini, which sparked massive popular protests in Iran. However, the protests have been put down with brutal violence. Much because of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard – the part of the army closest to the Iranian regime.
The EU Parliament voted in January for the Guard to be branded a terrorist, but for the decision to become a reality, the Council of Ministers must adopt it. Sweden is the chairman of the EU and the opposition wants the government to push for a terror label.
– The brutal violence of the last few months has raised the issue that we must use all the instruments we have against this group, says Morgan Johansson.
Sending weapons abroad
In addition to the violence against its own population, the Revolutionary Guard is also accused of supplying foreign terrorist groups with weapons. Morgan Johansson believes that this also means that the group should be labeled a terrorist.
– The Revolutionary Guards have been involved in the Syrian war on Assad’s side and trained terrorist groups in other countries, for example Hezbollah. If you do that, you should run the risk of being branded a terrorist.
There are sanctions
Foreign Minister Tobias Billström (M) agrees that the outside world must put continued pressure on the regime, but believes that the law puts an end to a terrorist listing of the Revolutionary Guard.
– Strict legal criteria are required for a terrorist listing, also in combination with a national authority determining that the organization has links to terrorist acts, says Billström.
Instead, he points to the sanctions for human rights violations that exist against the Revolutionary Guard.
– There are already sanctions against the Revolutionary Guard because of its involvement in developing weapons of mass destruction. They provide us with several effective tools, such as asset freezes and entry bans.
See more about the Iranian Revolutionary Guard in Foreign Office: The Ayatollah’s Army on SVT Play.
