Colombia Cuts Diplomatic Ties With Iran, Designates Revolutionary Guard a Terrorist Group

Colombia’s Foreign Ministry announced on September 24 that the government had formally broken diplomatic relations with Iran as of September 19, calling it a sovereign decision based on national and hemispheric security. The ministry cited alleged links between Iran’s government and terrorist and narco-terrorist groups, human rights violations in Iran, attacks on countries not party to the Middle East conflict, the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz and obstruction of IAEA verification work. Consular relations were not broken. The government also declared Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps a terrorist group and said it would tighten controls to stop people linked to it from entering Colombia.