UANI Applauds Canada’s Designation of the IRGC As a Terrorist Organization

(New York, NY) – United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI)’s CEO Ambassador Mark D. Wallace released the following statement today after Canada announced the designation of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organization:

“UANI applauds Canada for sanctioning the entirety of the IRGC as a terrorist organization under its criminal code. For too long, Canada only recognized the IRGC’s Quds Force as a terrorist organization under its criminal code. But with this designation comes the recognition that all components of the IRGC support the Quds Force and are involved in terrorism.

“It will not only have a symbolic impact, but also a practical one. Canada’s previous sanctions regime on the IRGC did not prohibit the IRGC’s ability to nurture homegrown Islamist radicalization and terrorism – a loophole it was exploiting. Just this month, UANI identified an individual at a rally in Toronto dressed in IRGC attire who was threatening IRGC-inspired jihadi violence against Canadians.

“All IRGC-related propaganda and radicalization activities will now be prohibited through today’s designation. This step will also equip Canada’s communities with the necessary safeguards to identify and prevent IRGC radicalization.

“Western democracies are beginning to create a global norm in labeling the IRGC as the terrorist organization that it is. Canada now is only the second Western democracy in the world to take this step after the United States. In doing so, Ottawa shattered the myth that U.S. allies cannot blacklist the IRGC as it is part of the Islamic Republic’s government. It is time for Australia, the European Union, and the United Kingdom to now join Canada and the United States in sanctioning the IRGC as a terrorist organization.

“Many Canadians have suffered at the hands of the IRGC, most tragically in its downing of Ukrainian International Airlines Flight 752 in 2020. We congratulate and celebrate the many brave Iranian activists who have been so resolute in their long campaign demanding Canada sanction the IRGC as a terrorist organization.”

In the leadup to Canada’s sanctioning of the IRGC as a terrorist organization today, UANI’s Director of IRGC Research Kasra Aarabi testified before the Canadian parliament and encouraged Ottawa to designate the IRGC as a terrorist organization. 

To view his testimony, please click here.

To view UANI’s comprehensive report on the IRGC, please click here.