By Rosemary
Iran said Monday it had summoned the ambassadors of all European Union member states accredited in Tehran to formally protest the bloc’s decision to designate the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organization, a move that has sharply escalated diplomatic tensions at a moment of heightened military and political pressure on the Islamic Republic.
The summons came amid parallel efforts by Turkey to mediate between Washington and Tehran, as Ankara seeks to arrange a meeting between U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff and senior Iranian officials. Two Turkish officials familiar with the matter said the goal is to revive stalled diplomacy and reduce the risk of U.S. military action against Iran, which regional governments fear could ignite a wider conflict across the Middle East.
Those concerns have grown after the United States repositioned major naval assets into the region, including the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln and several guided-missile destroyers. While it remains unclear whether President Donald Trump intends to authorize the use of force, the military buildup has coincided with intense behind-the-scenes diplomatic activity aimed at preventing another large-scale war.
Analysts say the U.S. administration is weighing competing pressures. A New York-based security think tank said Trump is attempting to calibrate a response to Iran’s violent suppression of protests in a way that penalizes senior leaders without drawing the United States into a prolonged and open-ended regional conflict. At the same time, some officials within the administration are seen as pushing to exploit what they view as Tehran’s vulnerability to extract sweeping concessions, even as Iran rejects core U.S. conditions for renewed diplomacy.
The European Union’s decision last week to blacklist the Revolutionary Guard was driven by its role in the crackdown on nationwide protests that erupted in January. Those demonstrations, which spread across much of the country, were met with a sweeping security response that left thousands dead and tens of thousands detained, according to human rights groups. While several countries, including the United States and Canada, had already designated the Guard as a terrorist organization, the EU move marked a significant escalation by Europe.
Although largely symbolic, the designation adds to the growing economic and political pressure on Iran, particularly because the Guard wields enormous influence over large segments of the country’s economy, spanning construction, energy, telecommunications and finance.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said ambassadors began receiving summonses on Sunday, with the process continuing into Monday. He said Tehran is reviewing a range of retaliatory options and that proposals have already been forwarded to senior decision-making bodies.
“We believe that in the coming days a decision will be made regarding reciprocal action by the Islamic Republic of Iran in response to the illegal, unreasonable and deeply wrong decision taken by the European Union,” Baghaei told reporters.
Iran’s parliament speaker went further on Sunday, declaring that Iran now considers all EU militaries to be terrorist organizations, citing a law passed in 2019 that allows such designations in response to foreign actions against Iranian armed forces.
The Revolutionary Guard was formed in the aftermath of Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution to safeguard the clerical system of government and was later embedded in the country’s constitution. Operating alongside the regular military, the Guard has grown into a powerful parallel force with its own ground, naval and aerospace units, as well as a vast economic empire that has allowed it to flourish despite decades of sanctions.
Its volunteer Basij force is believed to have played a central role in crushing the recent protests, particularly after authorities shut down the internet and international phone lines beginning Jan. 8. Footage that later emerged through satellite internet connections and other channels showed armed men, believed to be affiliated with security forces, firing on crowds and beating demonstrators in the streets.
Against this backdrop, Turkish officials said Ankara has been working quietly to bring Iranian representatives and Witkoff together on Turkish soil. Speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly, one official said the aim was to hold a meeting by the end of the week if circumstances allow.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and Witkoff held several rounds of talks last year in Rome and Oman over Iran’s nuclear program, but those negotiations failed to produce a final agreement. Diplomatic momentum collapsed entirely after Israel launched a wave of strikes against Iran on June 13, triggering a 12-day conflict between the two rivals. During that confrontation, the United States carried out airstrikes on three Iranian nuclear facilities.
Baghaei declined to confirm whether talks in Ankara were imminent, saying only that Iran is reviewing both the principles and details of any potential diplomatic process. He added that it was natural for regional countries to intensify mediation efforts under the current circumstances. The U.S. government did not immediately comment on the reported discussions.
Baghaei also addressed concerns about a military drill conducted by the Revolutionary Guard in the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway at the mouth of the Persian Gulf through which roughly a fifth of the world’s oil supply passes. He said the exercise was ongoing and proceeding according to a previously announced schedule.
Iran had warned maritime traffic last week that drills would take place on Sunday and Monday, though it initially did not publicly acknowledge their start. The U.S. military’s Central Command issued a warning cautioning Iran against harassing American forces or interfering with commercial shipping in the strategic passage. The Guard is known to operate swarms of small, fast-attack boats in the area, a tactic that has raised tensions in past encounters.
Asked whether Iran could be on the brink of war, Baghaei sought to reassure the public, telling citizens not to worry. He declined to say whether the United States had set any deadline for Iran to respond to its demands.
Meanwhile, Iran’s judiciary announced new charges against senior figures at a state television channel following public outrage over a program that mocked those killed during the protest crackdown. Prosecutors said charges were filed against the head of the Ofogh channel, along with producers and the show’s host.
The program, which aired Saturday, referenced claims circulating abroad that Iranian authorities were concealing bodies of the dead. The host presented the allegation in a mocking tone, asking viewers a multiple-choice question about where bodies might be hidden, jokingly listing locations such as ice cream freezers and supermarket refrigerators.
Rights groups estimate that at least 6,842 people were killed during the unrest, with fears that the true toll may be significantly higher. Iran’s government has reported a far lower figure of 3,117 deaths, saying many of those killed were security personnel and labeling others as terrorists. On Sunday, the presidency published a list of nearly 3,000 names it said belonged to those killed, an unusual step for a system that has often undercounted or withheld casualty figures during past episodes of unrest.
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