Prime Minister Justin Trudeau proposes banning 10,000 members of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) from visiting Canada amid continued anti-government rallies.
On Friday, Trudeau said the top 50% of the IRGC’s leadership would suffer lifelong entrance bans under new Canadian law. Trudeau targeted “over 10,000 officers and senior people [of the IRGC] most accountable” for Iran’s “heinous state actions.”
“The regime designation is permanent. More than 10,000 IRGC commanders will be inadmissible to Canada, he said.
The IRGC answers to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. It handles clandestine overseas activities and military assistance for regional allies.
Mahsa Amini’s murder in Iranian police detention has drawn widespread attention. The 22-year-old died after being held by Iran’s “morality police” over her clothing.
Trudeau also stated that his government would spend $55m (76 million Canadian dollars) to implement its sanctions system and prevent Iranians from laundering money in Canada.
In the subsequent protests, several were slain, and hundreds were imprisoned.
This Monday, US President Joe Biden’s administration sanctioned Iranian authorities for “violence against nonviolent protestors and shutting off Iran’s Internet access.”
Iranian authorities deny that Amini was mistreated in detention, and Khamenei, the country’s supreme leader, blamed the US and Israel for the “riots.”
