Iran Brands Canada's Plan To Designate IRGC 'Hostile'

Iran's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has branded 'hostile' a recent move by Canada's House of Commons to label the Revolutionary Guard (IRGC) as a terrorist entity.

"This is unwise, hostile, and contrary to accepted international legal standards," Nasser Kanaani, the ministry's spokesman said, responding to the Canadian parliamentary action.

On Wednesday, the House of Commons passed a non-binding motion to designate the IRGC as a terrorist organization and called for the expulsion of approximately 700 Iranian agents believed to be operating in Canada. The decision follows a report from a House committee but does not obligate the Canadian government to act on the recommendation.

Despite the non-binding nature of the vote, it symbolizes a significant political stance from Canada, which has seen gradual movements towards labeling the IRGC as a terrorist group, a policy Canada has been edging towards since at least 2012.

More than a year after the Woman, Life, Freedom movement in Iran in 2022, and persistent appeals from the diaspora to prevent regime-affiliated officials from entering Canada, the Canadian government has started to implement measures to restrict entry and initiate deportation processes for these individuals.

The diaspora continues to argue that the current actions are inadequate. They believe that including the IRGC on the terrorist list would hold its members, who have acquired Canadian citizenship, accountable for crimes committed abroad, thereby subjecting them to more severe penalties.

The United States, having designated the IRGC as a terrorist organization in 2019, has called for international cooperation to combat the IRGC's alleged global terrorism activities. Last year, the US also found Iran to be the world's number one state sponsor of terrorism.

The IRGC was established after the 1979 Iranian revolution and has grown to be a significant force in Iran, incorporating military, political, and economic power.