The travesty of listing IRGC, the biggest anti-terror force, as 'terrorist entity'

By Wesam Bahrani

Canada's decision to blacklist Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) as a "terrorist entity" aligns with a series of politically motivated actions against Tehran by many Western states in recent years.

This designation - of the world's most powerful and respected anti-terror force - is not only disconnected from reality but also violates international norms by interfering with a sovereign nation.

The IRGC has not only provided security for Iranians by safeguarding the country's borders from various threats but has also protected West Asia and the world from the scourge terrorism, including that of Daesh.

During the dark days of Daesh's brutal rule in Iraq and Syria, at the height of the Takfiri terrorist group's rise in 2015 and 2016, terrorism had alarmingly expanded to many Western countries.

Terror attacks in Europe claimed the lives of 130 innocent people in Paris and 32 others in Brussels at the time. Daesh terrorists also threatened the other side of the Atlantic.

The IRGC sacrificed some of its most senior military advisors and commanders to dismantle the infrastructure and operations of one of the biggest threats to global peace and security in modern history.

These sacrifices helped in saving hundreds of thousands of lives in West Asia. Top US generals estimated it would take at least ten years to liberate the land occupied by Daesh, yet IRGC-led operations completed the job in a quarter of that time.

More importantly, for Canadians, the IRGC also prevented numerous potential terror attacks in the Western world, particularly in North America, which Daesh had threatened.

As privately admitted by many top-notch political and military officials in the West, IRGC's actions have protected the region and the world from the scourge of terrorism.

Imagine what the world would look like today if the IRGC had not been in Iraq and Syria to liberate those countries from the clutches of Daesh and destroy its vast network of bases across the region.

Where would terrorism have spread today? In essence, the IRGC saved Canadian lives, as Daesh had explicitly threatened them.

Labeling the IRGC as a "terrorist entity", even though irrelevant, is therefore a travesty of justice and an affront to human rights.

Canada cites the IRGC's support resistance movements in Lebanon and Palestine against the Israeli occupation and the Israeli genocide as a reason for the designation, while also raising human rights concerns.

However, no evidence was presented regarding human rights violations allegedly committed by the Iranian military force. Using fabricated statements by anti-Iran groups to frame the Islamic Republic as a human rights abuser has lost credibility.

When it comes to supporting resistance against US-sponsored Israeli genocide in Gaza, the IRGC will never abandon the Palestinians, regardless of global blacklist. Canada too is complicity in this genocide.

Public opinion globally supports the resistance defending Gaza from the genocidal Israeli regime. However, Ottawa appears to be out of touch with this reality.

The mass slaughter and maiming of tens of thousands of Palestinian children and women by Zionists are rewarded by Western states with weapons and diplomatic cover.

Those defending these children and women from being slaughtered are described as "terrorists" by Western states, including Canada.

This stance is not surprising, given Canada's decades-long obsession with Iran, regularly taking hostile measures against the Islamic Republic based on false claims of human rights violations and terrorism.

Instead of praising the IRGC for its anti-terror efforts, Canada has succumbed to pressure from the powerful and influential Zionist lobby, the anti-Iran terror group MKO, and hawks in Washington DC.

These groups have historically posed significant threats to regional peace and security.

One should question whether Ottawa's moves against Tehran are driven solely by internal forces or if external actors influence them. The answer is clear to everyone. Canada has become a vassal state of the US and the Israeli regime.

Another question is why is there so much attention on Iran. Besides supporting the oppressed Palestinian nation, what makes the Islamic Republic stand out in the region?

Could it be that since 1979, the Islamic Republic has been politically sovereign and independent from Western hegemony, or is it the vast oil and gas reserves that the West cannot access due to Iran's military strength?

Apart from following other nations, Canada often preaches about human rights. It would be more beneficial for Canadian officials to focus on finding the remains of indigenous children who were tortured to death and believed to have been buried in mass graves by a church-run, government-funded cultural genocide on Canadian soil.

The government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who has faced intense scrutiny over his past actions, should prioritize repatriation for First Nation communities.

This would bring some comfort to the parents of 150,000 children who were forcibly taken from their homes. Indigenous people have taken a long time, with the help of advanced technology, to identify the mass graves of their children.

The Canadian government did not help, fearing further exposure of the disturbing 150-year-old child assimilation program that ended in 1996. If these missing children aren't in mass graves, where are they?

The problem with imperialism is where to start. For Canada, it is the labeling of an anti-terror force as a "terrorist entity."

Wesam Bahrani is an Iraqi journalist and commentator.

(The views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of Press TV.)

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