Iran Warns Europe against Classifying IRGC as Terrorist Organization

Kanaani speaks during a meeting with Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian and media officials. (Iranian Foreign Ministry)
Kanaani speaks during a meeting with Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian and media officials. (Iranian Foreign Ministry)
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Iran Warns Europe against Classifying IRGC as Terrorist Organization

Kanaani speaks during a meeting with Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian and media officials. (Iranian Foreign Ministry)
Kanaani speaks during a meeting with Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian and media officials. (Iranian Foreign Ministry)

The Iranian Foreign Ministry warned against any European move to classify the Revolutionary Guards on the terrorist list. At the same time, Tehran expressed its determination to move forward in strengthening relations with Russia against what it described as “American unilateralism.”
On Thursday, the European Parliament adopted a resolution demanding the expansion of sanctions on Iran and the classification of the IRGC on the list of terrorist organizations, following an attack launched by Iran with missiles and drones against Israel, in response to the bombing of the Iranian consulate in Damascus.
Among the motives of European legislators is Iran sending drones and missiles to groups described as “Tehran’s proxy” in the region, as well as Russia, which is waging a war with Ukraine.
Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Nasser Kanaani said that discussions raised during the European meeting were “baseless and irresponsible.”
Iranian media quoted Kanaani as saying during the weekly press conference: “The Revolutionary Guard is an official military force that plays an important role in preserving national security, protecting borders, confronting external and cross-border attacks and threats...”
He added that the IRGC assumed “an important role in development, economic prosperity, and public services for the Iranian people.”
Some countries are pressuring the European Union to find a way to classify the Iranian Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist organization.
But officials, led by European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, say that they have not yet found a legal basis for such a step, nor are they confident that it will gain the support of all European Union members.
European officials are currently studying a court ruling issued in the German city of Dusseldorf related to the activities of the Revolutionary Guard, which paves the way for efforts to include it on the terrorist list. The United States has classified the IRGC as a terrorist organization since April 2019.
In a related matter, Kanaani said that Moscow and Tehran are working on a comprehensive cooperation agreement document in the long term, which “could give impetus to expanding cooperation between the two countries.” He referred to “common positions on regional and international issues,” including confronting “American unilateralism and combating terrorism.”
In December, Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Iranian counterpart, Ebrahim Raisi, signed memorandums of cooperation in Moscow against Western sanctions on the two countries. For three years, the two sides have been studying signing a “20-year comprehensive cooperation agreement” similar to an agreement deal between Tehran and Beijing.



Hegseth Says the Pentagon Has Given Trump Possible Options for Israel-Iran Conflict

US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth testifies before the Senate Armed Services Committee in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on June 18, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Getty Images/AFP)
US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth testifies before the Senate Armed Services Committee in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on June 18, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Getty Images/AFP)
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Hegseth Says the Pentagon Has Given Trump Possible Options for Israel-Iran Conflict

US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth testifies before the Senate Armed Services Committee in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on June 18, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Getty Images/AFP)
US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth testifies before the Senate Armed Services Committee in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on June 18, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Getty Images/AFP)

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told lawmakers Wednesday that the Pentagon was providing possible options to President Donald Trump as he decides next steps on Iran but would not say whether the military was planning to assist with Israeli strikes, an action that could risk dragging America into a wider war in the Middle East.

Hegseth was on Capitol Hill for the last of his series of often combative hearings before lawmakers, who have pressed him on everything including his use of a Signal chat to share sensitive military plans earlier this year.

In questioning before the Senate Armed Services Committee, Hegseth said "maximum force protection" was being provided for US troops in the Middle East and that it is Trump’s decision whether to provide Israel a "bunker buster" bomb to strike at the core of Iran's nuclear program, which would require US pilots flying a B-2 stealth bomber. He would not indicate what the US may do next.

"My job — our job, the chairman and I — at all times is to make sure the president has options and is informed of what those options might be and what the ramifications of those options might be," Hegseth said, referring to Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff who was testifying alongside him.

The US has shifted significant numbers of refueling tanker and fighter aircraft to position them to be able to respond to the escalating conflict, such as supporting possible evacuations, or airstrikes. Hegseth said this week that was done to protect US personnel and airbases.

Hegseth's testimony last week in three congressional hearings also was taken over by events, with the Trump administration dispatching the National Guard and 700 active-duty Marines to the protests in Los Angeles against California Gov. Gavin Newsom's wishes. It came just ahead of a massive military parade to celebrate the Army's 250th birthday, which coincided with President Donald Trump's birthday.

In the previous hearings — where Hegseth appeared to discuss the Pentagon's spending plan — lawmakers made it clear they are unhappy that Hegseth has not provided full details on the administration’s first proposed defense budget.

Trump has said it would total $1 trillion, a significant increase over the current spending level of more than $800 billion.

Hegseth, who is appearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee on Wednesday, has spent vast amounts of time during his first months in office promoting the social changes he’s making at the Pentagon. He’s been far less visible in the administration’s more critical international security crises and negotiations involving Russia, Ukraine, Israel, Gaza and Iran.