Canada says it has dropped the Iranian dissident group Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK) from its terrorist list and added the Qods Force, the international arm of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps, to the list.
The Harper government did not provide a reason for delisting the MEK also known as People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran; however, it appears that Canada is following the lead of the United States and the European Union, which dropped MEK from their terrorist lists earlier this year.
The MEK settled in Iraq during the Iran-Iraq War as a militant Iranian opposition group. The group claims that it no longer subscribes to violence.
On the other hand, Canada has accused the Qods Force of “exporting the Iranian Revolution through activities such as facilitating terrorist operations.”
Canadian Public Safety Minister Vic Toews went on to allege that the Qods force provides “arms, funding and paramilitary training to extremist groups, including the Taliban, Lebanon’s Hezbollah, Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command."
The IRGC has confirmed that its Qods forces are present in Syria and Lebanon but only in the capacity of aides and advisers.
