Iran Designates Royal Canadian Navy a Terrorist Organization

ERBIL (Kurdistan24) - In a sharp escalation of diplomatic tensions, Iran moved to designate the Royal Canadian Navy as a terrorist organization, framing the decision as a direct response to Canada’s earlier blacklisting of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards.

Iran’s foreign ministry announced on Tuesday that it had designated the Royal Canadian Navy a terrorist organization, describing the move as retaliation for Canada’s 2024 decision to list Iran’s Revolutionary Guards as a terrorist group.

In a statement, the ministry said the designation was a response to Ottawa’s action, which it described as being taken “contrary to the fundamental principles of international law.”

“Iran, within the framework of reciprocity, identifies and declares the Royal Canadian Navy as a terrorist organization,” the statement said, without specifying what ramifications, if any, the Canadian force would face.

On June 19, 2024, Canada formally declared the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps a terrorist organization. The designation bars IRGC members from entering Canada and prohibits Canadians from having any dealings with individual members or with the group itself.

Under the Canadian decision, any assets held in Canada by the Guards or their members may also be seized.

Canada accused the IRGC of “having consistently displayed disregard for human rights both inside and outside of Iran, as well as a willingness to destabilize the international rules-based order.”

One of the factors cited by Ottawa in its decision was the downing of Flight PS752. The aircraft was shot down shortly after takeoff from Tehran in January 2020, killing all 176 passengers and crew, including eighty-five Canadian citizens and permanent residents.

The IRGC later acknowledged that its forces downed the jet, saying controllers had mistaken it for a hostile target.

Diplomatic relations between Canada and Iran have been severed since 2012, when Ottawa broke off ties with Tehran, calling Iran “the most significant threat to global peace.”

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards were designated a foreign terrorist organization by the United States in April 2019. Australia took a similar step last month, accusing the force of being behind attacks on Australian soil.

With reciprocal designations now in place, the latest move underscores the deepening rift between Tehran and Western governments over security, accountability, and international law.