Tehran, Iran – The Italian Embassy’s consular office in Tehran announced on Sunday, February 12,
that it would close its doors and cease operations “until further notice,”
a move reflecting the sharp deterioration in diplomatic relations between Iran and the European Union.
The embassy’s notice explained that services would be limited to “essential, urgent,
and non-postponable services” exclusively for Italian citizens,
with all previously scheduled consular appointments postponed until “the necessary conditions” for reopening are met.
Terrorist armies and the expulsion of military attachés
The Italian decision came just hours after fiery remarks by Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf,
who labeled European militaries as “terrorist groups.”
Ghalibaf explicitly demanded the “immediate expulsion of European military attachés from Iran,”
an escalation that observers described as placing Western diplomatic missions under direct security and political pressure.
Context of the crisis: The classification of the Revolutionary Guard
These swift Iranian responses come after the European Union foreign ministers’ decision on Thursday, February 29,
to officially designate the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organization—a decision
that followed years of political wrangling and pressure within the EU.
Experts believe that the closure of the Italian consulate could be the beginning of a series of similar measures by other European countries,
in anticipation of any potential repercussions or protests targeting their diplomatic missions following calls for expulsion
and accusations of terrorism leveled by the legislative authorities in Tehran.
