Backgrounder - Canada imposes further sanctions against Iran

In 2010, the Canadian government established the Special Economic Measures (Iran) Regulations (“Iran Regulations”) pursuant to the Special Economic Measures Act. In October 2022, Canada amended the Iran Regulations to include gross and systematic human rights violations and has since imposed a total of 20 rounds of sanctions, including today’s announcement.

Today’s amendments add four (4) individuals to Schedule 1 of the Iran Regulations for their participation in gross and systematic human rights violations in Iran given their roles in facilitating repressive policies and directing their implementation. These sanctions target senior officials who have held prominent positions within Iran’s IRGC and/or the Iranian prison system and who have played a significant role in these violations.

The four individuals are:

• Mohsen Karimi, Brigadier General and Commander of the Ruhollah Corps of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps
• Ahmad Kadem Seyedoshohada, Brigadier General and Commander of the Karbala Operational Base of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps
• Mustafa Mohebbi, former Head of the State Prison Organization in Tehran Province
• Hassan Akharian, Head of Ward 5 and solitary confinement of the Rajaei Shahr Prison

Any person in Canada or Canadian outside Canada is thereby prohibited from dealing in the property of, entering into transactions with, providing services to, transferring property to, or otherwise making goods available to the listed individuals. These measures will also render listed individuals inadmissible to Canada under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA).

Under the Iran Regulations, listed persons may apply to the Minister of Foreign Affairs to have their name removed from the Schedule of designated persons. The Minister must determine whether there are reasonable grounds to make a recommendation to the Governor in Council for removal.