“Iran will be free.” European Parliament chief calls for ban on Tehran's elite military and sanctions on Iranian officials

Roberta Metsola, the president of the European Parliament (EP), on Saturday asked the European Union to include the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) on the list of terrorist organizations and to impose harsh sanctions on Iranian officials involved in the violent suppression of the demonstrations.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) functions as an ideological elite army, being a parallel military structure to the regular army, created specifically to protect the survival of the theocratic regime. This organization controls not only Iran's strategic military resources, but also vast sectors of the country's economy, wielding immense political influence.

“Even if the regime tries to limit communication, the world still sees the courage of the Iranian people standing up,” said Roberta Metsola, in a post on the X network on Saturday. “We hear them asking for dignity, pride and freedom. We stand with them. This is the moment of this generation and they will change history,” continued the head of the EP, according to Iran International.

The request comes amid intensifying protests in Iran these days, where security forces have again resorted to extreme violence against civilians.

“Those who dare to take to the streets, the political prisoners who are still imprisoned, need more than just words. Europe can act. A first step would be to designate the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organization and urgently extend EU sanctions to all those who support the regime through repression, violence and murder”, the head of the European Parliament also sent.

Her message ended with a categorical statement: “Iran will be free.”