The largely illegitimate and malicious move was described by many as a sign of the European desperation and a “stab of revenge” by of the European elites on the behalf of Takfiri terrorist organizations, the Israeli regime, and the Arab reactionary regime who over the past years sustained big blows from Iran.
Though the resolution is non-binding, the EU is set to look into the EP request for its verification in a Monday meeting of the European Council (EC). This largely politically-motivated motion that comes just a few days after execution of a key British spy in Iran and London fury about its intelligence defeat in the face of the Iranian intelligence community, especially the IRGC Intelligence Organization, was met with resolute condemnations from Iranian political and military officials who in a way or another made enlightenment about the detrimental goals and effects of this unwise move.
A move encouraging terrorism and instability
The spiteful and politicized move of the EP against the IRGC comes as this force, as evidenced by the history of turbulent developments in the region over the past decade, and according to admission of many officials from different countries, even in the West, plays the most important and leading role in curbing global terrorism. During this time, the IRGC and its Quds Force, once commanded by the glorious General Qassem Soleimani, helped the regional nations and countries to fight terrorism and obliterated it thanks to sacrifices by its personnel, substantially contributing to regional and international stability. Arrangement of commemorations for General Soleimani across the region and Muslim world bear witness to the people honoring the unmatched role of the IRGC in the fight against terrorism.
It was for this reason that after the European resolution, IRGC Commander General Hussein Salami, referring to a picture of General Soleimani, said that “at the picture, you see a graceful and unforgettable commander who along with other Islamic Revolutionary Guards played the biggest and most resolute role in finishing off worldwide terrorism.”
“If it was not for the sacrifices of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps and particularly the Quds Force commanded by martyr General Soleimani, the terrorism volcano created by the Americans would have spread to Europe and destroyed the security Europe is enjoying today,” said General Salami.
The IRGC commander pointed to the comments of Trump who said that Obama was the creator of terrorism in the Muslim countries for the first time. “The fire was on the European edge and could encompass the whole Europe if it was not contained. But the Europeans and Americans habitually change the place of the executioner and the martyr and the oppressor and the oppressed,” he maintained.
Also, many believe that the anti-IRGC action is a step taken to undermine collective regional actions designed to check terrorism and only plays into the hands of the terrorists.
Shortly after the EP resolution, Iran’s Parliament Speaker Mohammed Bagher Ghalibaf met General Salami and told him that the “Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps is an official military institution in the Islamic Republic and the most unique anti-terrorism organization in the world. If the European Union does not avoid its miscalculation, it will show that it has made supporting terrorism part of its official policy.”
EU’s controversial blacklist
Regardless of the fact that such a ridiculous blacklisting lacks credibility not only on the international stage but also within the European Union and even Germany questioned the legal credibility of the resolution, the terror lists of the EU which are politically-motivated and influenced by geopolitical rivalry have always been criticized by other countries.
For example, in recent months, one of the main reasons that has blocked Finland and Sweden bids for NATO membership is the conflict of views of Turkey with European countries over whether or not PKK should be blacklisted as a terrorist group. While Turkey bans the group as a terrorist entity, PKK members act freely in European countries.
Another example of European double standards is the open support for such separatist criminal groups as Komala, MKO, and others. Despite the abundance of documents about their crimes and terrorist activities over years against the Iranian people, their activities are not restricted by Europe laws.
“They label the legitimate Palestinian defense as terrorism and the Israeli aggression as legitimate defense. They consider Yemeni people’s defense of their territorial and political sovereignty as terrorism, and Al Saud and its allies’ aggression as legitimate defense. And also they label Iranian people and IRGC’s defense of their values as terrorism. While they paint themselves against terrorism, they actually harbor terrorism,” said General Salami.
Europe’s gullible thinking
With appearance of the first signs of the European efforts to fuel the anti-Iranian activities in recent months and continuation of political and propagandistic pressure to back the rioters inside Iran through blacklisting IRGC, the Iranian officials, who are aware of the grave plans of the West to undermine national security, took firm stances and warned about retaliatory and regretful reactions by Tehran.
In a tit-for-tat move, Iran’s parliament prepared a bill to take a similar action against the EU forces. The bill targets all military forces and military organizations of the EU member states that announce IRGC a terrorist organization.
The General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran in a statement warned the EP that “in the near future, the hostile countries would find out that this time, too, they miscalculated.”
Iran’s Vice President for Economic Affairs Mohsen Rezaee in a Twitter post described the hostile move by Europe as “self-harm and targeting of security.”
Hamidreza Moghadamfar, the adviser to the IRGC commander, held that the European decision to blacklist IRGC is like “entering into a dark corridor. The entry is with them but they cannot see its end or how to move into it.”
Actually, the Europeans, not thinking of the deep consequences of this politically-motivated move and the reciprocal threats deriving from blacklisting the IRGC as a terrorist organization, have stepped into a dangerous game without the power to absorb its blowbacks. One of the reasons why this move is called miscalculated is its effects on the way of European commercial and naval ships dealing with the massive presence of the IRGC forces in the Persian Gulf as the protectors of security of this important waterway.
While logic dictates that countries ban any contacts with a terrorist
force, European ships and planes for movement to and from the Persian
Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz need to share their data with the IRGC
according to the international laws. The experience of imposition of
speaking in Farsi as Iran’s official language on the US vessels in the
Persian Gulf for necessary coordination with the IRGC after a similar
decision by Donald Trump proved who is actually under subjection.
Indeed, in the future, the Europeans should not expect a force they
label terrorist to act responsible and according to international laws,
because those who sow the wind will reap the whirlwind.
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