Iranian members of parliament dressed up in IRGC uniforms to pass a bill that proscribed the armies of EU countries that listed the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps on the bloc's list of terrorist organizations in a meeting in Tehran on Sunday.
During the public session held on Sunday, in which Iranian MPs wore Revolutionary Guard uniforms, the parliament decided to classify European armies as 'terrorist' organizations,” Al-Ain media noted.
“The Revolutionary Guard is the largest anti-terrorism organization in the world,” a banner that was raised at the Speaker’s podium, the report said. The IRGC flag was also raised.
"By trying to hit the Revolutionary Guards ... the Europeans actually shot themselves in the foot and once again made a decision against the interests of their people by blindly obeying the Americans," Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf told his fellow MPs, all wearing Revolutionary Guards uniforms in support of the elite force.
"According to Article 7 of the law on countermeasures against the designation of the Revolutionary Guards as a terrorist organization, the armies of European countries are considered terrorist groups."
The EU marked a symbolic shift in its approach to Iran's leadership on Thursday by designating the Revolutionary Guards as a terrorist organization, following what turned out to be the Islamic Republic's bloodiest crackdown of protests since its establishment in 1979.
Iran designates European Union armies as terror organizations
Iran has a long history of retaliating against such actions.
Al-Ain added that “on Thursday, the European Union added Iran’s Revolutionary Guard to its list of ‘terrorist organizations,’ following the violent crackdown on recent protests in Iran, which quickly deemed the move ‘irresponsible’ and warned of its consequences.”
The 27-EU states agreed to impose “visa bans and asset freezes on 21 Iranian officials and government entities for repression, including Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni,” Al-Ain added.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi slammed the decision to try to prevent a war with the US, which is currently negotiating with the EU. “Several countries are currently seeking to avoid an all-out war in our region, while Europe is busy fueling the conflict,” he wrote.
IRGC has 'no plan to hold military exercises in Gulf'
Reports from earlier this week warned about possible escalations in the region after it was said that the IRGC's naval forces had planned live-fire exercises in the Strait of Hormuz. An Iranian official told Reuters on Sunday that there were no plans for such exercises.
Iran's state-run Press TV reported on Thursday that the force would conduct exercises in the Strait of Hormuz on February 1 and 2.
"There was no plan for the Guards to hold military exercises there, and there was no official announcement about it. Only media reports that were wrong," the official said.