EU poised to sanction Iran’s Revolutionary Guard over protest crackdown

European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas (Geert Vanden Wijngaert/AP)

The European Union is set to sanction Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard over Tehran’s crackdown on nationwide protests.

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said that she expects foreign ministers meeting in Brussels on Thursday to agree on adding Iran’s Guard to its terrorist list.

“This will put them on the same footing with al Qaeda, Hamas, Daesh,” she said, using an Arabic acronym for the so-called Islamic State group.

“If you act as a terrorist, you should also be treated as a terrorist.”

Iran had no immediate comment, but it has been criticising Europe in recent days as it considered the move, which follows the US earlier sanctioning the Guard.