Canada drops Iranian group MEK from terror list
But secret branch of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard added to roster of terrorist organizations
The Canadian Press
Posted: Dec 20, 2012 4:16 PM ET
Last Updated: Dec 21, 2012 7:45 AM ET
Demonstrators in front of the White House last year demand that Iranian opposition group Mujahedin-e Khalq be removed from a U.S. terror list. The group was delisted in the U.S. in September, and Canada announced it was doing the same Thursday. (Jose Luis Magana/Associated Press)
Canada is dropping an Iranian group that once allied itself with Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein from its official list of terrorists.
In taking the Mujahedin-e-Khalq, or MEK, off the list, the Conservative government is following the lead of the United States and the European Union.
The Tories provided no reasons for delisting the MEK, or for opting to keep 43 others on the list.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' Qods Force, the secret branch of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, was also added to the roster.
The MEK, once an armed faction, now says it wants to replace Tehran's clerical regime with a secular government through peaceful means.
In delisting the MEK in September, the United States noted the group had not engaged in terrorism for more than a decade.
Any person or group on Canada's terrorist list may have their assets seized, and there are criminal penalties for assisting listed entities with the aim of helping them carry out extremist activities.
Share Tools
Wright out over Duffy payback: Reaction from the Hill and beyond by Kady O'Malley May. 19, 2013 10:39 AM New chief of staff expected to be longtime Harper aide and current principal secretary Ray Novak
Top News Headlines
- Senior Pakistani politician shot dead
- Gunmen in Pakistan have killed a senior member of Imran Khan's Movement for Justice (PTI) party outside her home in Karachi. more »
- Search continues for 2 missing New Brunswick fishermen
- A search effort has resumed for two missing fishermen off the coast of New Brunswick, after a distress call was issued from their boat early Saturday. more »
- Car drives into crowd at Virginia parade
- About 50 to 60 people were injured after a driver described by witnesses as an elderly man drove his car into a group of hikers marching in a parade in a small Virginia mountain town. more »
- Spectator killed at Edmonton Jeep event
- A 20-year-old woman died Saturday during an event for Jeep enthusiasts held in a parking lot just west of downtown Edmonton. more »
Must Watch
Latest Politics News Headlines
- Email is proof Senate greenlit expenses, Brazeau says
- Senator Patrick Brazeau, in an interview with CBC Radio's The House, says the Senate gave him the green light to claim expenses for an apartment in the Ottawa area, in an email dated March 8, 2011 — the same $48,000 expenses a Senate report now says he has to pay back. more »
- Senator Pamela Wallin leaves Conservative caucus
- Senator Pamela Wallin says she is recusing herself from the Conservative caucus while her travel expense claims are under scrutiny. Wallin's departure comes one day after Senator Mike Duffy left the Tory caucus amid controversy over his expense claims. more »
- Reaction to Nigel Wright's resignation as PM's chief of staff
- In statement, Nigel Wright insists he did not advise the prime minister "of the means by which Sen. Duffy's expenses were repaid, either before or after the fact." more »
- Ads tout job grants program that doesn't yet exist
- The federal government has been airing ads touting its Canada Jobs Grant for training workers, but the Conservative government House leader acknowledges the announced program is merely a "proposal that needs to be fleshed out." more »
The National
The House
- Questions mount for Harper and chief of staff Nigel Wright in Senate scandal May. 18, 2013 1:15 PM This week on The House, with Senators Wallin and Duffy now out of the Conservative caucus, we get reaction from NDP Ethics critic Charlie Angus. We also hear directly from Senator Patrick Brazeau who says the Conservatives have thrown him under the bus. Plus we speak with B.C. Premier Christy Clark after her stunning victory.
- Harper chief of staff resigns amid Senate expense scandal
- Spectator killed at Edmonton Jeep event
- Car drives into crowd at Virginia parade
- Toronto Mayor Rob Ford cancels weekly radio show
- Rescue attempt over for New Brunswick fishermen
- Winning ticket sold in Florida for $590M Powerball jackpot
- Email is proof Senate greenlit expenses, Brazeau says
- Senior Pakistani politician shot dead
- Astronaut Chris Hadfield adjusts to 'earthling' life
