EU appears poised to sanction Iran's Revolutionary Guard over protest crackdown

The EU is set to sanction Iran's Revolutionary Guard for its violent protest crackdown, equating it with terrorist organizations.

The European Union appeared poised on Thursday (January 29, 2026) to sanction Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard over Tehran's deadly crackdown on nationwide protests, further squeezing the Islamic Republic as it worries over a threat by U.S. President Donald Trump to potentially launch a military strike against it.

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America has moved the USS Abraham Lincoln and several guided-missile destroyers into the West Asia, which can be used to launch attacks from the sea. Iran has kept up its own threats as well, saying it could launch a preemptive strike or broadly target the West Asia, including American military bases and Israel.

It remains unclear what Mr. Trump will decide about using force, though he has threatened to use it in response to the killing of peaceful demonstrators and over possible mass executions. At least 6,373 people have been killed in the protests, activists said.

But the move by Europe, long considered, will put new pressure on Iran as its economy already struggles under the weight of international sanctions. Its rial currency fell to a record low of 1.6 million to $1 on Thursday (January 29, 2026). Economic woes had sparked the protests that broadened into challenging the theocracy before the crackdown.

The EU's top diplomat, Kaja Kallas, told journalists it was “likely” the sanctions would be put in place.