Members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps during a parade in 2024 (Illustrative photo: EPA)

Ukraine has recognized the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organization. This was announced by president Volodymyr Zelenskyy in an evening address, and the corresponding message was published on the website of the Security Service of Ukraine.

"In fact, the EU has agreed on the decision to designate one of the main organizations of the Iranian regime, the so-called IRGC, as a terrorist organization. European procedures are now underway. We in Ukraine have already made such a decision and have already designated this organization as a terrorist organization, and this issue is closed for us. All terrorists in the world deserve the same treatment and condemnation – no one should win," the head of state said.

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Zelenskyy noted that Kyiv supports "nations that value freedom and are truly ready to fight for it," recalling the Iranian regime's killing of protesters and how Tehran "invested in spreading war and violence in the region and the world."

"Ukraine will not forget any of the thousands of "shaheds" who are attacking our cities and villages, our people," the president emphasized.

The SSU website states that the decision to add the Corps to the list of terrorist groups was made on January 30 by the headquarters of the Anti-Terrorist Center of the agency.

The intelligence service noted that the IRGC is involved in Iran's commercial and business activities and controls numerous structures and influences "a wide range of sectors of the Iranian economy"

"The profits from these activities are used to finance the IRGC's illegal operations, including support for terrorism. With the support and guidance of the Iranian regime, the IRGC deliberately committed terrorist acts, involving its intelligence organization and al-Quds forces," the SSU added.

The IRGC is an elite military organization that exists separately from the Iranian Armed Forces and is directly subordinate to the ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the "supreme leader" of the Islamic Republic. The main goal of the Corps is to preserve the current regime in the country.

  • The United States declared the IRGC a terrorist organization back in 2019, during Trump's first term.
  • Foreign ministers of the European Union Member States recognized Corps by a terrorist organization on January 29, 2026.