Maneli Mirkhan’s analysis in Le Figaro on the Islamic Republic’s symbolic move against European armed forces

In an article published by Le Figaro on February 1, Maneli Mirkhan explains that the Islamic Republic’s decision to label European armies as “terrorist organizations” is a purely symbolic and propagandistic move, with no real, operational, or economic impact. As the article makes clear, Europe’s economic exchanges with Iran are not at stake in this decision, having already been reduced to a negligible level and limited mainly to humanitarian goods.

By contrast, the article stresses that the European Union’s decision to designate the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organization is a targeted and structural measure. Its core objective is the freezing of regime assets, the disruption of financial networks linked to the IRGC, and the restriction of its ability to operate economically and internationally. This decision directly strikes at the financial and operational heart of the regime.

According to the article, Maneli Mirkhan further explains that Tehran’s reaction must be understood as part of a broader war of narratives. The regime seeks to portray the IRGC as equivalent to a conventional national army, in order to dilute the political and legal significance of the EU’s move. In reality, she notes, the IRGC is not a regular military force but an ideological structure and a true “state within a state,” deeply embedded in Iran’s political, security, and economic power system.

The article underlines that, from a legal and political standpoint, the EU decision places the IRGC on the same level as organizations such as Hamas and Hezbollah—not as a national army, but as an armed group engaged in organized violence, repression, and regional destabilization.

Le Figaro also notes that Iran’s response sends a political signal to the regime’s allies—particularly Russia, in the context of its growing confrontation with Europe—while simultaneously seeking to mobilize supporters of the Islamic Republic domestically and internationally through a narrative of external confrontation and siege.

Finally, the article reports that Maneli Mirkhan emphasizes that a large segment of the Iranian population is calling for a complete severing of relations between Europe and the Islamic Republic, even though some European countries—France in particular—remain constrained by concrete diplomatic considerations, including the issue of hostages.