A coordinated European-led operation has targeted 14,200 online posts linked to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) after the EU designated the group as a terrorist organisation.
The action was led by Europol’s EU Internet Referral Unit, which works to detect and report terrorist and violent extremist material online, the police agency informed on Monday.
The IRGC was designated a terrorist organisation by the European Union on 19 February 2026 under Council Decision (CFSP) 2026/421, which allows law enforcement to take action against activities by the group’s members and supporting entities inside the EU.
Nineteen countries took part — Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Ukraine and the United States.
Authorities worked in coordinated phases between 13 February and 28 April, including collecting intelligence, cross-checking targets and submitting joint referrals to online platforms.
Posts across social media, streaming and websites
Investigators found IRGC-linked content on mainstream social media as well as on streaming services, blog hosting sites and standalone websites, according to Europol.
The material appeared in multiple languages including Arabic, Bahasa Indonesia, English, French, Persian and Spanish.
Europol said the posts ranged from speeches combining religious martyrdom narratives with political messaging to AI-generated videos praising the IRGC, as well as content calling for revenge for Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
In total, investigators identified 14,200 links tied to IRGC activity.
The IRGC’s main account on X, which had more than 150,000 followers, was withheld in the EU following the operation, while thousands of other links on several platforms were taken down or were still being investigated and removed.
The operation also identified the use of cryptocurrency transactions to support and boost online activity, a method intended to bypass traditional financial controls.
