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“This theocracy should no longer be in power,” EP President Roberta Metsola said to Euronews.
But standing between the protesters and regime is one ruthless entity: the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps or IRGC. Who are they?
They are not just an army — they are an elite killing machine founded in Iran in 1979 to protect the ideology of the Islamic revolution, and they answer only to the Supreme Leader.
The IRGC is estimated to be a force of 150,000 elite troops, backed by a 600,000-strong Basij paramilitary network.
In return for their loyalty, the Tehran regime grants them a massive gold chest: a budget estimated at $6 to $9 billion, nearly double that of the regular army.
But they are also a business conglomerate, an “empire within an empire” controlling sectors from energy to telecoms.
And with thousands of protesters presumed dead, these billions buy the loyalty that pulls the trigger.
So, why has the EU not designated them as a terrorist organisation yet?
The European Parliament has called for it for years, but EU law requires a national court ruling first, followed by consensus. A recent court case in Germany finally provided the legal cover.
European leaders are now calling for more sanctions to economically hurt the regime.
But will these actions be enough to stop the massacre on the streets of Tehran?
Watch the Euronews video in the player above for the full story.
