Canadian PM Justin Trudeau addressing an Iranian rally in Canada on October 28, 2022
Canada's spy agency has launched an investigation on what it calls multiple “credible” death threats against individuals on its soil by the Islamic Republic.
CBC News said on Friday that the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) is aware that some state agents of the Islamic Republic are “monitoring and intimidating” people inside Canada to silence those who speak against the regime.
“CSIS is actively investigating several threats to life emanating from the Islamic Republic of Iran based on credible intelligence,” CSIS spokesperson Eric Balsam said in a media statement.
“Ultimately, these hostile activities and foreign interference undermine the security of Canada and Canadians, as well as our democratic values and sovereignty,” added CSIS.
This is the first time CSIS confirms several ongoing investigations on “lethal threats to Canadians and people located in Canada” emanating from Iran.
Threats by Iran’s intelligence agencies are not just in Canada. UK’s intelligence authorities announced Wednesday they have discovered at least 10 “potential threats” since January to “kidnap or even kill British or UK-based individuals perceived as enemies of the regime.”
MI5 Director General, Ken McCallum noted that except Russia and China, the Islamic Republic is a “mounting concern.”
During his annual threat update in Thames House, London, he underlined that Iran is a state actor which most frequently crosses into terrorism.
“Iran projects threat to the UK directly, through its aggressive intelligence services. At its sharpest this includes ambitions to kidnap or even kill British or UK-based individuals perceived as enemies of the regime,” added McCallum.