Addressing four sanctioned Iranian lawmakers at the foreign ministry complex in Tehran on Sunday, Amir Abdollahian said that the recent act by the European Parliament against the IRGC shows that the signatories to the blacklisting of the Iranian elire force do not understand Iran’s internal atmosphere and even the Iranian expatriates correctly, and that it indicates those who are defending the country are rightful in their words and deeds.

"The foreign ministry warned the European Union since two months ago that the Islamic Republic would react very harshly if the IRGC, which is the military sector of the establishment, is affected by the Europeans’ decisions," the minister noted.

"The Europeans are aware of their situation and vulnerabilities; so after the European Parliament voted for the non-binding resolution of blacklisting the IRGC as a terrorist group, the Council of the European Union discussed very much and reached to the conclusion that they cannot play with fire," the top doplomat added.

"Thus, they followed up a second scenario, which is the imposition of sanctions on some Iranian individuals, including the four Iranian legislators," he continued.

"The Europeans made the naïve decision, but their officials will face the negative repercussions of the move, which will be definitely sanctions on the European authorities," the foreign minister noted.

FM: Iran's Exit from NPT, Expelling IAEA Inspectors Among Options in Response to EU's Anti-IRGC Actionhttps://t.co/V7rsqZJVT1 pic.twitter.com/c6pEOz8trG

— Fars News Agency (@EnglishFars) January 22, 2023

In mid-January, the European Parliament adopted an amendment which was added to an annual foreign policy report, calling on the EU and its member states to include the IRGC on their terror list. The parliament also passed another resolution, calling for more sanctions against Iranian individuals and entities and putting the IRGC on the EU terrorist list over alleged human rights violations during the recent riots.

The move has been strongly condemned by Iranian officials, commanders and the Armed Forces.

Tehran has repeatedly announced that the IRGC is an official state body which has had and will continue to have an important and key role in ensuring the security of Iran and the region.

Iranian officials have warned the EU that its plan to blacklist the IRGC as a “terrorist organization” may have unbearable consequences, urging Europe to avoid repeating the past mistakes. They say EU would shoot itself in the foot by listing the IRGC as a foreign terrorist entity.

They cautioned the European governments against falling into the trap of a plot hatched by the US and Israel, calling on the EU to maintain its independence from the US.

Tehran stresses the European states enjoy safety because of the elite forces' efforts in the fight against terror groups in the region.

In April 2019, the Iranian parliament passed a law designating American forces in West Asia, known as the United States Central Command (CENTCOM), as a terrorist organization. The move was made in response to the US blacklisting of the IRGC.