00:00This theocracy should no longer be in power.
00:05European Parliament President Robert Ametsola was clear on Euronews.
00:10The Iranian regime is on its last legs.
00:13But standing between the protesters and the regime there is one ruthless entity.
00:18The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
00:21Who are they?
00:23They are not just an army.
00:26They are an elite killing machine founded in 1979 to protect the ideology of the revolution.
00:34And they answer only to the supreme leader.
00:37It is an estimated force of 100,000 elite troops backed by a 600,000 strong Basij paramilitary network.
00:47In return for their loyalty the state grants them a massive gold chest.
00:536 to 9 billion dollars.
00:56A budget estimated to be nearly double that of the regular army.
01:01But they are also a business conglomerate.
01:04An empire within an empire.
01:06Controlling sectors from energy to telecoms.
01:09And with thousands of protesters presumed dead.
01:13These billions buy the loyalty that pulls the trigger.
01:17So why hasn't the EU designated them as a terrorist organization yet?
01:23The European Parliament has called for it for years.
01:27But EU law requires a national court ruling first and a consensus next.
01:32A recent court case in Germany finally provided the legal cover.
01:37European leaders are now calling for more sanctions to hurt the regime economically.
01:42But will these actions be enough to stop the massacre on the streets of Tehran?
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