Jerusalem: Israel expects India to designate the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organisation, two senior Israeli officials told ThePrint, adding that the same has been conveyed to Indian officials at various diplomatic levels. The IRGC, the Israeli officials said, has already been sanctioned by nearly 44 countries and Tel Aviv has presented the threats the Iranian organisation poses to various countries including India.
“We have certain expectations from India with regards to the IRGC. Forty-four countries have designated the IRGC as a terrorist organisation. It is time for India to take similar steps for the IRGC,” one Israeli official said. A second official highlighted the case of Australia, which last year designated IRGC as a “state sponsor of terrorism”.
The move came after Australian security forces investigated at least two anti-Semitic attacks in Sydney and Melbourne in 2024 and identified links to the IRGC, a branch of the Iranian armed forces. Canberra had in the past demurred from taking the step to sanction the IRGC.
Israel has taken credit for Australia’s move to sanction the IRGC as a “state sponsor of terrorism”. The European Union (EU), too, has moved in recent months to sanction the IRGC following its role in putting down the widespread protests at the end of 2025 and early 2026.
The IRGC is a key pillar ensuring the security of the current administration in Tehran.
“The vulnerability of friendly countries of ours to such attacks, made us make sure that we’ve highlighted these threats at different levels with our Indian counterparts,” the second Israeli official said.
India has maintained ties with both Iran and Israel. Iranian foreign minister Seyyed Abbas Araghchi during his visit to New Delhi earlier this month had highlighted the strong relationship between India and Iran. He described India as one of the main friends of Iran.
The IRGC has also been an important pillar in the defence of Iran during the ongoing conflict with the US and Israel. A fragile ceasefire has been in place between the US, Israel and Iran since 8 April. The roughly 40-day war has had massive negative impacts for the global economy.
Further, the IRGC has also moved to take control over the Strait of Hormuz, the global waterway that has been effectively closed since 28 February. Around a fifth of global energy supplies flow through the strait.
IRGC is not the only organisation Israel has urged India to sanction.
Since the 7 October, 2023 attacks by Hamas on Israel, Tel Aviv has raised the necessity to sanction Hamas as a terrorist entity with New Delhi. India was one of the first countries to recognise the 7 October as a terrorist attack. Israel has highlighted the growing footprint of Hamas outside of the Gaza Strip and its potential linkages to organisations involved in cross-border terrorist attacks located in Pakistan.
However, till date neither the IRGC nor Hamas have been designated as a terror sponsor by New Delhi.
“Most Iranians are supporting every external effort to damage the regime. The IRGC social network has support from about 30 percent of the population. Clearly if there were an election, we know the result,” the first Israeli official said.
The second Israeli official said the IRGC is not supported by a majority of the Iranian people. For Israel, one of its key goals of carrying out Operation Rising Lion since 28 February is to weaken the hold of the Iranian government and the IRGC over the country, allowing conditions for internal regime change.
The reporter is in Israel at the invitation of the Israeli Embassy in New Delhi.
(Edited by Amrtansh Arora)
Also Read: IRGC calling the shots in Iran, ‘Hormuz card’ boomeranged—Israel’s Ambassador to India Reuven Azar