Germany aims to include Iran's Revolutionary Guards in its terrorism list.
Israel has long been urging for the Iranian Revolutionary Guards to be labeled as a terrorist organization. Now, some European countries are finally considering taking this action. This move is prompted by a German court ruling that has confirmed the links between the attack on a synagogue in Germany and the Iranian regime.
The Higher Regional Court of Düsseldorf's December ruling connected a state Iranian agency to the failed arson attack on a synagogue in Bochum, Germany. Following the request of the German EU delegation, the legal service of the EU Council examined and affirmed that this ruling could act as the basis for the EU to classify the Revolutionary Guards as a terrorist group.
Israel has been pushing for this classification for a while. This demand escalated after an Iranian attack on Israel in April. Historically, the EU argued that listing the Revolutionary Guards as a terrorist organization was legally impossible at the time because it required a national court decision or an administrative body's ban order. Doubts within the EU Foreign Service had even expressed concerns about whether the Düsseldorf ruling satisfied the conditions.
Recently, several European countries have expressed support for the idea of initiating the necessary procedures in the EU Council for the listing of the Revolutionary Guards. Germany's Foreign Minister, Annalena Baerbock, has voiced her support for this move. However, whether there is enough support among the 27 member states for a terror listing remains uncertain, as it requires unanimous approval.
Court ruling as a catalyst
EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell had previously been against the idea of classifying the Revolutionary Guards as a terrorist organization. One possible reason was his efforts to encourage Iran to adhere to a nuclear agreement that aims to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon.
The court ruling from Düsseldorf was prompted by an attempted arson attack on a synagogue in Bochum. A German-Iranian was convicted to a total of two years and nine months in prison for plotting a significant arson attack and attempting arson.
The Revolutionary Guards function as elite forces in Iran, protecting the state ideology and deterring coup attempts. They also took action against Israel in April, according to Iranian reports, using hundreds of rockets and drones. However, due to Israel's functional air defense system and its allies, there was minimal damage. Diplomats have noted that the terror listing of the Guards would be symbolic since there are already EU sanctions against them.
Read also:
- Year of climate records: extreme is the new normal
- Precautionary arrests show Islamist terror threat
- UN vote urges Israel to ceasefire
- SPD rules out budget resolution before the end of the year
The EU Council's legal service has affirmed that the Higher Regional Court of Düsseldorf's ruling on the Iranian regime's involvement in a synagogue attack in Germany could serve as the basis for the EU to designate the Iranian Revolutionary Guards as a terrorist group. This support comes after Germany's Foreign Minister, Annalena Baerbock, voiced her approval for such a move, although the attainment of unanimous approval among the 27 EU member states remains uncertain.
Germany's decision to include the Revolutionary Guards in its terrorism list follows the German court ruling that linked a state Iranian agency to the synagogue attack in Bochum. This move is significant given the EU's past reluctance to classify the Revolutionary Guards as a terrorist organization due to legal constraints, notably the absence of a national court decision or an administrative body's ban order.
Source: www.ntv.de
