Canada lists Iran's Revolutionary Guards as a terrorist group

Canada has listed Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) arsenic a violent organisation, aft years of unit from absorption legislators and immoderate members of the Iranian diaspora.

Announcing the determination connected Wednesday, Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc called it a “significant instrumentality successful warring planetary terrorism”.

The determination volition mean that thousands of elder Iranian authorities officials, including apical IRGC officials, volition beryllium barred from entering Canada.

The IRGC is simply a large military, governmental and economical unit successful Iran, with adjacent ties to the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

• Who are Iran's Islamic Revolution Guard Corps?

It is estimated to person much than 190,000 progressive unit with its ain crushed forces, navy and aerial unit that oversee Iran’s strategical weapons.

The IRGC exerts power elsewhere successful the Middle East by providing money, weapons, technology, grooming and proposal to allied governments and equipped groups done its shadowy overseas operations arm, the Quds (Jerusalem) Force, according to the government.

The Quds Force was already listed arsenic a violent radical by Canada, but Wednesday’s announcement extends the designation to the full IRGC.

Speaking to reporters, Mr LeBlanc said the enactment “sends a beardown connection that Canada volition usage each of the tools astatine its disposal to combat the violent entity of the IRGC".

“The Iranian authorities has consistently displayed disregard for quality rights, some wrong and extracurricular of Iran arsenic good arsenic a willingness to destabilise the planetary rules-based order,” helium said.

After this designation, existent and erstwhile elder Iranian authorities officials already successful Canada whitethorn besides present beryllium investigated and removed.

Canada's overseas affairs minister, Melanie Joly, warned that Canadians successful Iran could beryllium astatine hazard of arbitrary detention pursuing the announcement.

“My connection is clear: for those who are successful Iran close now, it’s clip to travel backmost home,” she said.

“And for those who are readying to spell to Iran, don’t go.”

The Canadian authorities nether the enactment of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had antecedently declined to widen the coercion designation to the IRGC, contempt unit from immoderate diaspora members - including the families of those who died aft Flight PS752 was changeable down by the IRGC successful January 2020 successful Tehran.

All 175 passengers onboard the level were killed, including 55 Canadian citizens and 30 imperishable residents of Canada.

Tehran had claimed that the rocket onslaught connected the level was done by mistake.

Mr Trudeau had antecedently said successful 2022 that helium feared a coercion designation would unfairly people Iranians successful Canada who opposed the authorities and fled, but had to service successful the IRGC successful the past.

Asked wherefore present by reporters, Mr LeBlanc said the determination to designate a radical arsenic a violent entity is simply a “deliberative process” made connected proposal of information services and with overseas argumentation considerations.

“It is simply a threshold that indispensable beryllium met nether the transgression codification of Canada,” helium said.

The determination makes Canada the 2nd state successful North America aft the US to statement the IRGC arsenic a violent organisation, which did truthful successful 2019.

The UK had antecedently indicated its intent to marque a akin determination arsenic precocious arsenic 2023, but has yet to bash so.