The story: Prominent Iranian civil society activists and journalists have come out against European efforts to designate the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organization, denouncing such a step as meddling in Iran’s internal affairs. This comes as Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has agreed to pardon and reduce the sentences of thousands of individuals—including people detained during the anti-establishment protests in recent months.

The coverage: A group of 70 Iranians issued a joint statement on Jan. 30 to "condemn" the European parliament for voting overwhelmingly in favor of a non-binding resolution to blacklist the IRGC.

• Comprising prominent journalists, academics, and political activists based both in Iran and abroad, the group insisted that designating the IRGC would be viewed as "a threat and unacceptable interference" in Iranian affairs.
  
  
• The signatories added that while the people of Iran are critical of “some” of the methods used by the IRGC to suppress unrest, they oppose any foreign "meddling."
  
  
• The group also urged the Iranian political establishment to...