A bipartisan group of more than 130 U.S. Congress members have signed a joint letter calling on the European Union to designate Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organization.

In the letter addressed to EU foreign policy Chief Josep Borrell, the lawmakers said Iran is “a leading state sponsor of terror” and that for decades the IRGC “has freely and openly carried out plots targeting citizens in countries across the EU.”

“We understand the legal complexities involved in designating the IRGC as a terrorist organization pursuant to EU law Common Position 931, and fully appreciate the need for this decision to be adjudicated by either a judicial or ‘equivalent competent authority,” the lawmakers said. “But given the growing threat Iran poses to EU member states and their citizens, we urge you to treat this issue with the utmost urgency.”

The letter also cites a study by the Combating Terrorism Center at West Point stating Iran “instigated at least 33 plots to surveil, abduct, or assassinate citizens in Europe” during the past five years.

Belgian parliamemt member Darya Safai speaks at a forum organized by the U.S.-based National Union for Democracy in Iran at Washington’s Hay Adams Hotel on March 13, 2023. (Michael Lipin/VOA)

Borrell has said designating the IRGC as a terrorist group must first involve condemnation by a court in at least one EU member state.

The United States declared the IRGC a terrorist group in 2019. (VOA)

•PHOTO:FILE - In this photo provided by the Revolutionary Guard's Ground Force Oct. 17, 2022, troops stand while attending a manoeuver in northwestern Iran.