Canadian Parliament Approves Motion to Designate Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as Terrorist Organization
The Canadian Parliament unanimously supported and approved a motion designating the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps of the Islamic Republic as a terrorist organization.
The Canadian House of Commons unanimously supported placing the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps on the list of terrorist organizations. The motion was presented in a report by the House of Commons Justice Committee, which called on the Canadian government to designate the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organization. The motion was approved with 327 votes in favor and no votes against.
This decision came at a time when European leaders are in serious disagreement over sanctioning the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps following Iran’s attack on Israel. Alexander De Croo, Prime Minister of Belgium, said on the matter: “My position is that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps should be placed on the sanctions list, and I am interested in seeing what the positions of other countries are on this issue. This matter is sufficiently solid from a legal standpoint; it may be difficult, but the difficulty of this process should not be a reason not to try to accomplish it.”
Olaf Scholz, Chancellor of Germany, also stated that this action requires further legal review. Additionally, Josep Borrell, the European Union’s foreign policy chief, announced that given current circumstances, the Corps cannot be legally placed on the list of terrorist groups.
The Justin Trudeau government, like some governments in Europe, is facing increasing pressure to designate the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organization. His government has so far attempted to reduce the pressure through measures such as considering a list of 10,000 individuals banned from entering Canada, but this policy has faced considerable criticism, and in many cases, the presence of individuals affiliated with the Islamic Republic or with a history of activity in the Iranian government and affiliated agencies in Canada has been proven.
The Trudeau government also claims that designating the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organization could harm individuals who served at lower levels of the Corps during mandatory military service and intend to move to Canada.
The British government, referring to diplomatic relations with the Islamic Republic, stated that Canada has not had diplomatic relations with the Islamic Republic for years and the Canadian embassy in Tehran is closed. Britain cited the importance of maintaining its own relationship with the Islamic Republic as one of the reasons for not designating the Corps as a terrorist organization.
