Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar on Wednesday urged France to back European Union designation of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organization.
Sa’ar made the appeal during a phone call with French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot, according to a statement from Jerusalem’s top diplomat.
In a conversation with French FM @jnbarrot, I called on France to support the designation of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards as a terrorist organization by the EU.
— Gideon Sa'ar | גדעון סער (@gidonsaar) January 14, 2026
For decades, the IRGC has acted to spread terror and destabilization in the Middle East and beyond. Now, they are… pic.twitter.com/KuaD5DT1Vq
“For decades, the IRGC has acted to spread terror and destabilization in the Middle East and beyond. Now, they are leading the murderous repression of the Iranian people, who are fighting for their freedom,” said Sa’ar.
The minister continued: “Designating the IRGC as a terrorist organization by the EU would be both a moral and an effective step, and would send a clear message to the Iranian people: We hear your voice. You are not alone.”
The United States designated the IRGC a foreign terrorist organization in 2019, but the European Union has resisted similar measures despite ongoing debate among member states.
France’s National Assembly on Jan. 29, 2025, passed a nonbinding resolution urging both the French government and the European Union to add the IRGC to their terrorist-organization lists, citing the group’s role in regional destabilization and domestic repression.
A cross-party bloc of European Parliament lawmakers has mounted a fresh drive to have the E.U. blacklist the IRGC as a terrorist entity, arguing that the rightward tilt in recent E.U. elections and new legal grounds have created unprecedented momentum for the long-sought designation.
