U.S. Welcomes Canada's House of Commons Decision to Designate IRGC as a Terrorist Organization

On Friday, June 15, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo welcomed the House of Commons' decision in Canada to list the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organization. Pompeo tweeted: "The United States welcomes Canada’s decision to strongly condemn Iran for its continued support of terrorism and to designate the IRGC as a terrorist entity." He added that "Iranians have risen against the actions of this corrupt regime. We support them and urge all countries to hold Iranian leaders accountable." The House of Commons passed a motion on Tuesday, June 12, to "stop all negotiations and discussions with Iran regarding the resumption of relations." This motion was presented by Garnett Genuis, a Conservative MP, who listed numerous reasons for considering Iran as an "undesirable actor" and called for severing contacts with Tehran. He also stated, "We must focus on expanding freedom, democracy, human rights, and the rule of law for 80 million Iranians who currently suffer from their absence." Brigadier General Abolfazl Shekarchi, spokesman for the Iranian Armed Forces, described the Canadian House of Commons' decision to label the IRGC as terrorists as "provocative." The Iranian Armed Forces spokesman referred to Canada as "a victim of the puppet shows of the enemies of the Islamic Republic" and warned that "evil plans against Iran's defensive arms will face a regrettable response." The Iranian Foreign Minister also expressed regret over the Canadian Parliament's decision to halt the improvement of relations with Tehran, stating that this action would be detrimental to Canada. In this context, the Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman had urged the Canadian government to prevent the final approval of the motion. Bahram Qasemi, the spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, emphasized on Wednesday, June 13, that if this motion is finally approved, it would be "a strategic and fundamental error with destructive consequences." Canada has not had relations with Iran since September 2012, when the then-government severed ties due to what it described as Iran's "opaque nuclear program and military assistance to Syria." Canada also closed its visa and immigration office in Iran on May 1 of that year. Following the nuclear agreement between Iran and six world powers in 2016, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau promised to improve relations with Iran, although he also voted in favor of this House of Commons motion. The motion also requested that Iran allow the exit of Bahram Membeini, the wife of Kavous Seyed-Emami, who died under detention in Evin Prison on February 8 last year; his death was attributed to suicide. Previously, Zahra Kazemi, a Canadian journalist, died in 2003 due to head trauma while in custody. In this context, Zarif stated that Ottawa's "hardline" policies would be detrimental to Canada and called for the prevention of the final approval of the motion to halt negotiations with Iran.