IRGC and its History of Terrorism
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps/IRGC ("Sepah-e Pasdaran") is the "supreme leader" 's private army with its five branches of aerospace, intelligence, special operations, and naval and ground operations unit.
The IRGC was established after the 1979 Islamic Revolution and given vast political and financial power [1].
The two Primary Purposes of the IRGC
To ensure the integrity of the Islamic Republic and protect it from the Iranian people.
To spread the 1979 Islamic revolution to other countries, which has led to terrorism through training, financing, and providing soldiers in countries such as Iraq, Lebanon, Palestine, Yemen, Bahrain, and Syria.
Listed below are a few of the terrorist activities of the IRGC:
In 2012, Iran's IRGC began sending tens and thousands of its military forces to Syria to support Assad's regime in preventing the collapse of the Syrian Arab Army and suppressing Syrian civilians. The IRGC's vast support of the Assad regime continues today [2].
In Lebanon, The IRGC has organized, financed, and trained the Islamist group Hezbollah. The group has conducted many attacks against Israeli and western targets and is designated as a foreign terrorist organization by the U.S department of state [3][4].
In November 2022, the IRGC transferred hundreds of Shahed one-way attack drones and military hardware to Russia, violating UN Security Council Resolution 2231. These drones are used to target civilians [5].
In January 2020, the IRGC shot down Ukrainian flight PS752 with two missiles only 3 minutes after takeoff from Tehran. The lives of all 176 passengers and crew were claimed. Although the IRGC denied being responsible for the missiles, they admitted to shooting down flight PS752 three days following the tragedy on January 11, dismissing their horrific actions as mistaking the flight as a hostile target [6]. Today the association of the families of victims of flight PS752 is united as they seek justice for their loved ones.
The IRGC has drastically increased its efforts to kidnap and kill government officials, activists, and journalists worldwide, including in the United States. On January 31, 2023, the United States Department of Justice revealed that the FBI disrupted another plot to assassinate Iranian-American human rights activist Masih Alinejad. This was the second attempt to assassinate Alinejad, one of the most vocal against the Islamic Republic [7].
On February 18, 2023, Iran International TV announced that it had closed its London studios and moved broadcasting to Washington, DC. This decision followed the escalation of dangerous threats against its employees and advice from the Metropolitan Police [8].
With the help of the IRGC, the Islamic regime has detained over 20,000 Iranians in ani-regime protests, killing over 500 civilians and inflicting lasting injuries on hundreds of people. The arrest and detention of Iranians directly reflect the status of human rights in Iran. Moreover, the treatment of detainees indicates patterns of human rights violations committed by the Islamic regime against Iranians.
On February 13, 2012, the Indian Police Service concluded that the IRGC was responsible for the bombing of an Israeli diplomat in Delhi, wounding four others [9].
Designating the IRGC as a terrorist organization
Since the onset of the "Women, Life, Freedom" revolution, Iranians in the diaspora have been demanding that their governments take action against the IRGC and add them to their list of terrorist organizations. The significant evidentiary basis backs these requests for such a designation.
The Government of Canada
In recent months, thousands of Iranian Canadians have participated in protests to demand that the government of Canada designates the IRGC as a terrorist organization. However, despite the calls from Iranian Canadians, Canadian activists, and politicians, the government has not designated the whole militia group as a terrorist entity.
In addition to only one branch of the IRGC, the Quds forces designated as a terrorist entity, the government of Canada has listed a number of the Iranian regime and the IRGC's top leaders as "inadmissible to Canada for their engagement in terrorism and systematic and gross human rights violations" [10]. Additionally, petition e-4257 has been initiated by Niki Ehsan, a Queens University student sponsored by MP Mark Garretson. The petition, which has now been presented to the house of commons, calls on the government of Canada to declare the entire IRGC as a terrorist entity as well as to designate authorities to investigate reported threats and stalking by the IRGC against Iranain Canadians and their third-party agents in Canada.
The European Parliament
Alongside Iranians in Canada, thousands of Iranians residing in Europe have participated in protests to demand that the European Parliament designates the IRGC as a terrorist organization.
On January 18, 2023, the European Parliament voted in favor of a measure calling for the European Union to designate the IRGC as a terrorist organization [11]. Unfortunately, the outcome of this measure was that the EU foreign ministers opted to add more individual names to the list of people sanctioned for human rights abuses instead of designating the IRGC as a terrorist organization. This action was dismissive of the vast evidentiary basis for designating the IRGC as a terrorist organization and was faced with wide backlash from the Iranian community. This decision is up to the 27 EU member states, which must vote unanimously to adopt a designation [12]. Iranians continue to protest and demand that the European Parliament takes action against the IRGC.
References
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Islamic-Revolutionary-Guard-Corps
https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CHRG-114hhrg97751/html/CHRG-114hhrg97751.htm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ukraine_International_Airlines_Flight_752
https://www.iranintl.com/en/202205236140
https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/document/B-9-2023-0080_EN.html
https://eur-lex.europa.eu/EN/legal-content/glossary/unanimity.html
