Canada, allies warn Iran to “kill, kidnap and harass” foreign people – country
Canada joined the United States and 12 European allies on Thursday, condemning what they call “increasing national threats” to foreign people by Iran’s intelligence services, including dissidents, journalists and citizens of Jewish states.
A joint statement issued by the U.S. State Department said that Iran’s attempt to “kill, kidnap and harass the people of Europe and North America” was “obvious violations” of the sovereignty of these countries.
“These services are increasingly working with international criminal organizations to target journalists, dissidents, Jewish citizens, and current and former officials in Europe and North America,” the statement said.
“This is unacceptable.”
The two countries said they were committed to working together to prevent such attacks and called on Iran to “immediately end illegal activities in our respective territories.”
Iran has long been accused by the United States, Canada and European countries of transnational repression against Iranian dissidents abroad and critics of the Tehran regime.
Irwin Cotler, a voice critic of the Iranian regime, told Global News last year that his security details have temporarily increased to “highest levels” due to the looming threat of assassination.
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Kotler said he was first told Iran was a “imminent and deadly threat” in November 2023 – shortly after October 7, 2023, the attack on Israel by Iran-backed Hamas – has been protected by RCMP since then.
“I think this is a phenomenon that is not personally relevant to me, but rather a greater threatening concern with transnational repression and assassination,” he said.
“This must be seen as a wake-up call to communities in democratic countries because it is a direct threat to our security, to our democracy and human rights.”
Iran is accused of hiring Canadian Hell Angels members in a murder case, and immigration officials have found that so far, there have been more than a dozen members of the senior Iranian regime who live illegally in Canada.
Documents released by public investigations into foreign intervention in Canada show that Iranian Canadians are increasingly concerned about former officials of the Iranian regime, targeting diaspora and community organizations.
According to the document, Canada is “known as a safe haven for Islamic regime officials and their families.”
Canada ranked Islamic Revolutionary Guard Coalition as a terrorist organization last year and declared that Iranian government and security agencies officials were unacceptable to Canada for their participation in terrorism and human rights violations.
However, the government also has difficulty dismissing former regime officials from the country, with orders for deportation to only three of the 12 ongoing cases of the Immigration and Refugee Commission.
Last year, the FBI and U.S. prosecutors revealed that under the premise of the November U.S. presidential election, multiple alleged conspiracies of Iran have assassinated U.S. President Donald Trump.
According to U.S. officials, Iran’s threat to Trump’s life prompted days before the July campaign in Pennsylvania prompted Trump’s shot dead. But officials at the time said they did not believe Iran was related to such assassination attempts.
The U.S. Department of Justice announced in November that the Iranian plot to kill Trump came weeks before the presidential election was thwarted.
During his first term, Trump ordered a military strike against Iran, killing Qassem Soleimani, who led the IRGC Quds troops. Iran vowed to avenge Trump and members of his first administration, including his former national security adviser John Bolton and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
The alleged criminal lawsuit against Trump’s conspiracy also claimed that the two were arrested and charged for allegedly involved in a critical plot to murder U.S. Iranian journalists and the Iranian regime in New York.
The FBI also said that during the U.S. election, Iranian hackers tried to intrigue the campaign of then-President Joe Biden, which allegedly allegedly stolen last summer. Officials said at the time there was no evidence that any recipients responded.
– Documents with Global’s Stewart Bell and the Associated Press
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