Iran's leadership warned of a regional conflict on Sunday (1 February) if the U.S. were to attack it, stoking the tension between Washington and Tehran, and it designated EU armies as "terrorist groups" in a retaliatory move.
The warning came as Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf said Tehran would treat EU member states’ armies as terrorist organisations, citing Article 7 of Iran’s Law on Countermeasures Against the Declaration of the IRGC as a Terrorist Organisation.
Speaking during a parliamentary session in Tehran, Qalibaf described the EU’s decision as an “irresponsible action” that ran counter to Europe’s own interests.
“By trying to target the Revolutionary Guards, the Europeans have once again acted against the interests of their own people by blindly obeying the Americans,” he said.
Lawmakers attending the session wore green IRGC uniforms in a show of solidarity and chanted anti-US, anti-Israel and anti-Europe slogans, according to footage broadcast by Iranian state television.
EU designation and IRGC role
The European Union agreed on Thursday (29 January) to designate the IRGC as a terrorist organisation, citing Tehran’s response to recent nationwide protests and broader concerns over human rights. The move mirrors similar designations already made by the United States, Canada and Australia.
In response, the Revolutionary Guards said in a statement on Sunday that the EU’s decision complicated “the path to constructive interaction and cooperation” while strengthening “confrontational approaches”.
Established after Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution, the IRGC plays a central role in Iran’s military and security apparatus and wields significant political and economic influence, including across parts of the economy and the armed forces.
Qalibaf said Iran’s national security parliamentary commission would consider expelling EU military attachés and pursue further retaliatory measures through the foreign ministry. It remains unclear what immediate practical impact Iran’s declaration will have.
Rising tensions and mixed signals
The announcement comes amid heightened rhetoric between Tehran and Washington. US President Donald Trump has warned of possible military action and recently ordered a major naval deployment to the region.
Iranian officials have likewise insisted they are open to dialogue. Ali Larijani, head of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, said on Saturday that “structural arrangements for negotiations are progressing”, despite what he described as a media-driven atmosphere of confrontation.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has also sought to lower the temperature, saying a new war would be in the interests of neither Iran, the United States nor the wider Middle East.
In a phone call with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, Pezeshkian said Tehran has never sought war and remains committed to preventing further regional destabilisation.
Protests and domestic backdrop
Western governments accuse the IRGC of playing a central role in suppressing the protest movement that erupted over economic hardship and political grievances, with rights groups reporting thousands of deaths.
Tehran rejects those claims, blaming the unrest on “terrorist acts” encouraged by foreign powers.
Qalibaf said the EU decision had only strengthened domestic support for the Guards and, in his words, pushed Europe closer to “irrelevance in the future world order”.
The exchange of designations underscores a sharp deterioration in Iran–EU relations, even as regional and international actors continue to press both Tehran and Washington to keep diplomatic channels open.
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