Iran on Thursday said the EU would "shoot itself in the foot" by listing the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organisation as the European Parliament voted unanimously to recommend sanctions on senior officials.
"We have repeatedly said the Revolutionary Guard are a formal and sovereign organisation whose role is central for guaranteeing Iran's security," state media reported, quoting Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian speaking to EU foreign affairs chief Josep Borrell.
"Steps taken by the European Parliament to list the organisation as terrorist are in a way a shot in the foot of Europe itself."
Mr Amirabdollahian’s remarks came a day after MEPs voted in an amendment to an annual foreign policy report to urge the EU to blacklist the IRGC, the ideological arm of Iran's armed forces.
The EU blames the IRGC for the repression of protesters in Iran and the supply of drones to Russian troops in Ukraine.
The vote is non-binding but it comes as EU foreign ministers are due to discuss tightening sanctions on Tehran at a meeting in Brussels next week.
