Spain backs EU listing of Iran's Revolutionary Guard as ‘terrorist’ group

GENEVA

Spain supports the inclusion of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps on the EU's list of terrorist organizations, the Spanish foreign minister said Thursday, stressing that Madrid backs "all sanctions" against Tehran in response to its domestic crackdown.

Speaking ahead of a meeting of the Foreign Affairs Council in Brussels, Jose Manuel Albares said Spain's position was long-standing and unequivocal. "Spain supports all the sanctions on Iran at this moment," he said, adding that this included "of course those that refer to the inclusion on the list of terrorist groups of the Revolutionary Guard."

He argued that there was little left to assess given the situation inside the country.

"When we see the situation in Iran, when we see a blind, indiscriminate repression, arbitrary detentions, a situation for Iranian women that worries us terribly," Albares said, it was the EU’s "responsibility and, if you allow me, obligation" to act.

Albares said Spain had from the outset demanded respect for "freedom of expression and the freedom of peaceful demonstration of all Iranians," praising the "great courage" of those protesting. He said arbitrary detentions must end and warned that "any execution would be an authentic red line for Spain and for Europe."