Canadian Parliament approves bill designating IRGC as terrorist organization

The Canadian Parliament unanimously supported and approved the bill to declare the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps a terrorist organization.

The Canadian House of Commons has unanimously voted to designate the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organization. The bill, introduced in a report by the House of Commons Judiciary Committee, calls on the Canadian government to designate the IRGC as a terrorist organization. The bill passed with 327 votes in favor, with no votes against.

The decision comes as European leaders are divided over whether to sanction the IRGC following Iran's attack on Israel. Belgian Prime Minister Alexandre De Croo said: "My position is that the IRGC should be included in the sanctions list and I am interested to see what other countries' positions are on this. This is a legally sound issue, it may be difficult, but the difficulty of the process is no reason not to try."

German Chancellor Olaf Schulz also announced that the move requires further legal review. EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell also announced that, given the current circumstances, it is not legally possible to list the IRGC as a terrorist group.

Justin Trudeau's government, like some governments in Europe, is facing increasing pressure to designate the IRGC as a terrorist organization. His government has tried to ease the pressure by taking steps such as putting 10,000 people on a list of banned individuals from entering Canada, but the policy has been met with widespread criticism, and in many cases, the presence of individuals affiliated with the Islamic Republic or a history of working in the government and related organizations in Canada has been proven.

The Trudeau government also claims that designating the IRGC as a terrorist organization could hurt people who served in the lower ranks of the IRGC during their military service and plan to move to Canada.

The British government, referring to diplomatic relations with the Islamic Republic, also announced that Canada has not had diplomatic relations with the Islamic Republic for many years and that the Canadian embassy in Tehran is closed. Britain cited the importance of maintaining its relationship with the Islamic Republic as one of the reasons for not declaring the IRGC a terrorist organization.