Unwise move: Iran says reserves right to give proper response to Canada's blacklisting of IRGC

Iran says it reserves the right to reciprocate with a "proper” response Canada's unlawful act to designate the country’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) as a “terrorist organization.”

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kan'ani on Thursday denounced the "political, unconventional and unwise" move by the Canadian government against the IRGC.

"The reprehensible move of the Canadian government against the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps will have no impact on [the force] generating legitimate and deterrent power," he said.

He added that such measures will fail to hinder the elite force from increasing the level and scope of its power rooted in the Iranian nation.

Canada's imprudent decision is a hostile move which runs counter to the recognized principles of international law, including non-interference in the internal affairs of countries, and it constitutes an example of violating Iran's national sovereignty, the spokesperson emphasized.

"This irresponsible and provocative move is in line with the wrong path that the Canadian government has taken for more than a decade under the influence of warmongers and true violators of human rights and the main sponsors of terrorism," Kan'ani pointed out.

He noted that the IRGC is an official and legal entity enshrined in Iran's Constitution, which, along with other Armed Forces, is responsible to safeguard national security and borders and promote lasting security and stability in the region by fighting the vicious phenomenon of terrorism.

Canada’s blacklisting of IRGC ‘bitter irony’: Iran’s rights chief

Iran’s rights chief strongly condemns Canada’s hostile move to designate the country’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) as a “terrorist organization.”

In yet another hostile move against Iran, Canada's Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc Ottawa on Wednesday listed the IRGC as a "terrorist entity" under the Criminal Code and called on Canadians in Iran to leave.

Last month, the Canadian House of Commons adopted a non-binding resolution calling on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government to blacklist the IRGC and expel an estimated 700 Iranians.

The move makes Canada the second country in North America after the United States to list the IRGC as a terrorist organisation. 

In a post on his X account on Wednesday, Secretary of Iran's High Council for Human Rights Kazem Gharibabadi strongly condemned Canada's hostile move which “opposes the principles of the international law.”

Canada broke off diplomatic ties with Iran and closed its Tehran embassy in a surprise move in 2012, citing various reasons, including Iran’s support for Syria, its nuclear work, and alleged threats to the Israeli regime.

In the same year, however, Ottawa took off the anti-Iran terrorist Mujahedin-e-Khalq Organization (MKO) from its list of terrorist organizations.

The delisting came after around a decade of campaigning and expenditure of millions of dollars by the cult, which has openly boasted about carrying out terrorist operations against thousands of Iranian officials and civilians.

In 2022, Iran's Foreign Ministry imposed sanctions on eight Canadian officials and one institution over their support for anti-Iran terrorists and acts of terror among other things.

The North American country has also been serving, for years, as a safe haven for Iranian embezzlers, who have fled their safe in the knowledge that Ottawa would not take the trouble to extradite them.

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