Canada declares Iran’s IRGC a terrorist entity

Canada has declared Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), a branch of the Iranian Armed Forces, as a ‘terrorist entity’.

Canadian Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc made the announcement at a press conference on Wednesday afternoon.

He said Canada will ‘use all of the tools at its disposal’ to combat the IRGC's activity in Canada. 

Thousands of senior Iranian government officials, including top IRGC members, are now banned from entering Canada, and those already inside the country may be investigated and removed.

As an immediate consequence of the listing, Canadian financial institutions, such as banks and brokerages, are required to immediately freeze the property of a listed entity, and it is a criminal offence for anyone in Canada and Canadians abroad to knowingly deal with property owned or controlled by a terrorist group.