Ottawa: The Canadian federal government is preparing to designate Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organization under Canada’s Criminal Code. This move follows years of pressure from victims’ groups, the Iranian Canadian community, and political parties. Once a group is listed as a terrorist entity, it allows Canadian authorities to charge anyone who supports the group financially or materially and to freeze the group’s assets.
The IRGC, a powerful branch of the Iranian armed forces, is directly accountable to Iran’s supreme leader and was responsible for the downing of Flight PS752 in 2020, which killed 176 people, including many Canadians. This incident has been a significant factor driving the push for the IRGC’s designation. Despite previous government concerns that such a designation might unfairly impact Iranian Canadians who had mandatory service in the IRGC, recent developments and political pressure have led the government to reconsider and move forward with the designation .