Europol said Monday that investigators identified 14,200 online links tied to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps during a coordinated crackdown on terrorist content across social media platforms, streaming services, blog hosts and standalone websites.
The operation was coordinated by Europol’s EU Internet Referral Unit and targeted the online activity used by the IRGC to spread propaganda, recruit supporters, and raise funds.
The operation followed the European Union’s formal designation of the IRGC as a terrorist organization on Feb. 19, 2026, under Council Decision 2026/421. Europol said the designation gives law enforcement authorities a basis to act against the group’s members and supporting entities in the EU.
The coordinated action involved 19 countries: Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Ukraine, and the US.
“Between Feb. 13 and April 28, authorities operated in coordinated phases, collecting intelligence, confirming targets and flagging content to online platforms for review and takedown,” Europol said.
Investigators found IRGC-linked material in several languages including Arabic, Bahasa Indonesia, English, French, Persian and Spanish. The content featured speeches mixing religious martyrdom stories with political messaging, AI-generated videos praising the IRGC and calls for revenge for Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the agency said.
Europol said the operation also helped investigators map the online structure of IRGC-linked websites operating in multiple languages. The work supported efforts to trace and remove statements and videos produced by proxy groups and aligned entities, including Hezbollah, Ansar Allah, Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad and HAYI.
The IRGC’s main X account, which had more than 150,000 followers, was withheld in the EU after the action, according to Europol. Thousands of other links across several platforms were removed or remain under investigation.
Investigators also uncovered what Europol has called the IRGC’s changing digital tactics. The agency said the network relied on hosting service providers in jurisdictions ranging from Russia to the United States to help keep its online operations going.
Europol also said authorities detected cryptocurrency transactions that helped fund the maintenance and expansion of online activities linked to the IRGC. The agency said the tactic was designed to bypass traditional financial controls.
Europol said the referral action is part of its broader support for EU Member States working to disrupt terrorist activity online under the EU’s ProtectEU Internal Security Strategy.
The agency said terrorist networks continue to evolve their tactics in the digital domain. “Their reach and impact needs to be limited through sustained cross-border coordination,” the agency said. Further analysis will be included in the next EU Terrorism Situation and Trend Report from Europol, it said.
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