The European Union has designated Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) a “terrorist organisation” over a deadly crackdown on antigovernment protests in the country. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said on Thursday that the bloc’s foreign ministers took a “decisive step” in labelling the IRGC as a “terrorist” group. Meanwhile, Iranian officials forcefully rejected the EU’s announcements, with Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi accusing the bloc of “fanning the flames” amid soaring tensions in the region. US President Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened to attack Iran in recent weeks, citing the protest crackdown as well as the Iranian nuclear programme. The Trump administration joined Israel’s 12-day military assault against Iran in June of last year, striking three Iranian nuclear facilities in attacks that Trump previously said had “obliterated” the country’s nuclear programme.