Lithuania’s parliament passed a resolution designating Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organisation.
“We were the first among EU parliaments to declare this (...). We recognize the IRGC as a terrorist organization,” conservative MP Emanuelis Zingeris, chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, told a press conference on Friday.
“Starting yesterday, our Interior Ministry must monitor whether members of this terrorist organisation are crossing our borders,” he added.
In its resolution passed on Thursday, the Lithuanian parliament, Seimas, declared that the IRGC is a terrorist organisation and that its activities pose a threat to international security and stability. It calls on the EU to follow the lead of the United States and Canada and include the IRGC on the bloc’s list of terrorist organisations.
The IRGC is a paramilitary force established after the 1979 revolution, functioning independently of Iran’s regular armed forces and directly subordinate to the supreme leader. The IRGC controls Iran’s ballistic missile program and wields significant economic influence in the country.
“The Seimas [...] calls on the EU, together with its partner countries, to adopt new sanctions packages against Iran, targeting individuals and companies involved in the development and transfer of Iran’s ballistic missile and drone programs to Russia and terrorist organisations, as well as imposing restrictive measures on Iran’s aviation sector,” the resolution reads.
MP Giedrius Surplys noted that the European Parliament has already discussed this issue, but no decision has been taken so far.
However, he believes that it is “only a matter of time”.
The Lithuanian parliament’s resolution condemns Iran’s increasing military support for Russia in its war against Ukraine, including the supply of drones, ammunition and ballistic missiles used to attack Ukrainian infrastructure and civilians.
It also criticises Iran and Russia for their cooperation with the Palestinian group Hamas and its ally Islamic Jihad, the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and the Yemeni Houthis, and denounces Iran’s two direct attacks on Israel this year.
The document condemns Iran and Russia for the “systematic hostage-taking of third-country nationals” and the “unlawful detention” of ships for political purposes.
“For more than 40 years now, the current government of the Islamic Republic of Iran, which came to power undemocratically during the 1979 revolution, has systematically carried out repression, pursued discriminatory policies against women, violated the rights of its citizens, as well as human rights, and cracked down on protesters,” it reads.
The resolution was unanimously supported by 60 MPs.
Earlier this week, Iran launched around 200 missiles at Israel, most of which were intercepted. This followed Israel’s invasion of Lebanon on October 1.
This marked Iran’s second-ever direct attack on Israel, following a missile and drone attack in April in response to a deadly Israeli airstrike on the Iranian consulate in Damascus.
European countries have imposed sanctions on Iran, accusing it of supplying ballistic missiles to Russia in its war against Ukraine. Tehran rejects these accusations.
Newsletter
Every Friday morning.
