Canada further sanctions Iranian regime for gross violations of human rights

February 27, 2023 – Ottawa, Ontario – Global Affairs Canada

The Honourable Mélanie Joly, Minister of Foreign Affairs, today announced that Canada is imposing additional sanctions under the Special Economic Measures (Iran) Regulations. This is the ninth package of sanctions imposed by Canada against the Iranian regime since October 2022.

Today’s sanctions list 12 senior officials from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and Law Enforcement Forces (LEF) who have participated in gross and systematic human rights violations in Iran, including through the lethal suppression of demonstrations across Kurdish areas of Western Iran.

This list includes, but is not limited to:

• Morteza Mir Aghaei, Commander of Basij paramilitary forces in Sanandaj, Kurdistan Province
• Esmaeil Zarei Kousha, Governor of Kurdistan Province
• Seyeh Sadegh Hosseini, IRGC General and Commander of the IRGC’s Beit al-Moqqadas Corps in Kurdistan Province
• Rahim Jahanbakhsh, LEF Second Brigadier General and Commander of the LEF in West Azerbaijan Province

Today’s measures prohibit dealings with these listed individuals, effectively freezing any assets they may hold in Canada. Individuals listed in response to gross and systematic violations of human rights are also inadmissible to Canada under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.

Canada will continue to coordinate with its international partners to respond to the Iranian regime’s egregious treatment of its people, its deployment of propaganda and its actions that continue to threaten international peace and stability.