Canada declares IRGC a terrorist organization and Iran condemn the decision

Ottawa on Wednesday designated Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organization, calling on its citizens to leave the Islamic Republic.

Public Security Minister Dominique LeBlanc told a news conference, “Our government has taken the decision to designate Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist entity under the Criminal Code”.

Ottawa said Iran had demonstrated its contempt for human rights and demonstrated an intention to destabilize the international order.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has been on the US blacklist since 2019.

Through this decision, Canada can freeze the assets of members of the group and prosecute them in court, in addition to banning all financial transactions.

The Canadian blacklist includes about eighty entities, including Hamas, al Qaeda, Lebanon’s Hezbollah, the Taliban, Islamic State and Boko Haram.

The Quds Force, which handles the IRGC’s external operations, was on the list as well.

The decision comes amid years of high tension between Canada and Iran.

Like many other countries, Canada is pursuing the Islamic Republic at the International Court of Justice for holding it legally responsible for the downing of a Ukrainian Boeing in 2020.

Since protests in Iran following the death of young Mahsa Amini in 2022, Ottawa has imposed a series of sanctions on Iranian organizations and officials.

Canada has barred ten thousand Iranian officials from entering its territory, including members of the Revolutionary Guards.

Iran on the other hand, by its semi-official Fars news agency quoted Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani on Thursday as saying Iran condemned Canada’s designation of the Revolutionary Guards as a terrorist organization, calling it an unwise, unconventional and politically motivated move.

“Canada’s move will have no impact on the IRGC’s legitimacy and deterrent power,” Kanani said, adding that Tehran reserved the right to respond to the designation.