Daijiworld Media Network - Tehran

Tehran, Feb 1: Iran’s parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf on Sunday declared that all European Union militaries are now considered terrorist groups, responding to the EU’s designation of Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard as a terror organisation over its crackdown on nationwide protests.

The announcement, largely symbolic, follows a 2019 law allowing Iran to reciprocally label foreign militaries as terror groups, after the U.S. had designated the Guard similarly.

Qalibaf made the statement while wearing a Guard uniform, alongside other lawmakers, during a parliamentary session. “By seeking to strike at the (Guard), which has been the greatest barrier to the spread of terrorism to Europe, Europeans have shot themselves in the foot,” he said.

Lawmakers later chanted slogans including “Death to America!” and “Death to Israel!”

The move comes amid rising tensions in the Middle East, with U.S. President Donald Trump considering possible military action against Iran. Iran also announced live-fire military drills on Sunday and Monday in the strategic Strait of Hormuz, through which around a fifth of global oil trade passes.