EUROPOL targets online propaganda of Iran's Revolutionary Guard

The European Union's law enforcement agency has targeted online propaganda by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in a coordinated operation against online terrorist content.

The IRGC has been declared a terrorist organization by the United States, the EU, and other countries, including Kosovo.

The European police agency, EUROPOL, announced that 14.200 posts linked to the Revolutionary Guard were targeted in this operation.

The action focused on identifying and disrupting the group's online presence, which was "used to spread propaganda, recruit supporters and raise funds," the statement said.

EUROPOL said 19 countries joined forces to identify and disrupt content linked to the Iranian Guard online: Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Ukraine and the United States.

From February 13 to April 28, authorities from these countries worked together, under the coordination of EUROPOL, collecting data, verifying targets, and checking online platforms.

According to the EU agency, the content was distributed on major social media platforms, as well as online streaming services, blogs and independent websites.

The propaganda content, according to EURPOL, was identified in several languages, including Arabic, English, French, Persian and Spanish. The content took on a variety of formats, from speeches featuring religious narratives of martyrdom interwoven with political messages to artificial intelligence-generated videos praising the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and calling for revenge for the assassination of Iran’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei.

Khamenei was killed during airstrikes at the start of the US and Israeli war against Iran on February 28.

EUROPOL said that the interconnection of Garda-related websites, which operated in multiple languages, provides important information about how this online group operates.

After over 14.000 posts linked to Garda – which has 150.000 followers on X – were identified, Garda's account on this platform was blocked by the EU, while other links, linked to several platforms, have either been removed or are being investigated, EUROPOL said.

This operation found that the Iranian Guard continues to expand its digital presence. Investigators found that it has online networks in many countries, starting with Russia and the United States, that allow it to have an online presence.

Authorities also identified transactions that were carried out using cryptocurrencies with the aim of amplifying online operations, a tactic that, according to EUROPOL, is designed to circumvent traditional financial controls.

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps is the ideological wing of Tehran's military and was created after the 1979 revolution to protect the clerical leadership.

The Guard controls or owns companies throughout the Iranian economy, including key strategic sectors.