Italy Joins the Chorus: 'Terrorist' Label for Iran's Guards, Or Another US-EU Warm-Up Act?
📰 THE STORY: Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani declared Rome would urge EU partners to designate Iran’s Revolutionary Guard (IRGC) as a terrorist entity. This marks a hawkish shift for Italy, which previously resisted such measures, now citing 'heinous acts' and a supposed crackdown that 'killed thousands' during recent Iranian protests as justification. 🔍 WHAT THEY'RE NOT TELLING YOU:
Historical Context: This push isn't new; it's a re-run of a well-worn script. Since 2002, then-Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly claimed Iran was 'months away' from a nuclear weapon—a threat often amplified to justify an aggressive stance against Tehran. The US designated the IRGC as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) in 2019, a move widely decried at the time as a
dangerous escalation, intended more to cripple Iran's economy and military than to combat 'terrorism.' This Italian announcement comes amid escalating tensions in West Asia and repeated US and Israeli calls for a tougher stance on Iran, mirroring the propaganda build-up that preceded the 2003 Iraq invasion and the 2011 intervention in Libya. We're expected to forget that the 1953 CIA-backed coup
in Iran toppled a democratically elected leader, Mohammad Mosaddegh, installing the Shah and sowing decades of anti-Western sentiment. Double Standard: The 'thousands killed in crackdowns' figure is a highly inflated, unsubstantiated claim often circulated by foreign-backed opposition groups and amplified by Western media, with zero on-ground verification or hospital records. These same outlets