Iranian intelligence services may be behind recent attacks in Canada, according to a top-secret government report obtained by Global News.
The threat assessment said it was a “realistic possibility” that Iran had used local criminal networks to target the Canadian Jewish community.
The report said that “actors possibly directed by Iranian Intelligence Services” were also suspected of threats to Israeli and Iranian communities and interests.
The intelligence summary on violence in Canada related to the war in Iran was released to Global News under the Access to Information Act.
“The main violent extremist threat in Canada with a connection to the conflict remains a single self-directed radicalized actor or small group unconnected to Iran,” he said.
“However, it is a realistic possibility that Iran is enabling criminal proxy actors to carry out attacks in Europe against Jewish community targets and that they have directed or enabled similar acts of criminal violence in Canada since the beginning of the conflict.”
The Integrated Threat Assessment Center (ITAC) report, which analyzes threats to Canada’s national security, is dated April 2.
The document, as well as a second one on the same subject, were partially redacted and did not publicly identify which acts of violence in Canada it referred to.
But she said a new organization called Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiyya had claimed responsibility for attacks in Europe, including an arson attack on a synagogue in London.
US prosecutors have alleged that Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiya is a front for Kata’ib Hizballah, a pro-Iranian Shiite militia based in Iraq.
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In May, the US arrested a member of Kata’ib Hizballah named Muhammed Baqer Saad Davud Al-Saadi for allegedly directing attacks in Europe.
According to the allegations, Al-Saadi bragged that he was behind two attacks in Toronto – shootings at a synagogue and the US consulate.
Toronto police have arrested several gunmen who were allegedly part of a criminal network that was hired to open fire on the American consulate.
A Toronto officer, Const. Marc Pinizzotto, was shot and killed during the investigation, which is looking into more than two dozen shootings across the city.
The gunmen were recruited through encrypted messaging apps and asked to record videos of the incidents in order to receive payment, police said.
“What we’re dealing with in this case and other unrelated incidents, including shootings at synagogues and Jewish schools, is a recurring and similar modus operandi — criminals for hire,” said Toronto Police Chief Myron Demkiw.
Police said they are investigating who is behind the shooting. Secretary of State for the Fight against Crime Ruby Sahota has blamed an unidentified “foreign entity”.
Canadian authorities have not publicly linked the case to Iran. But two intelligence reports released to Global News point to the possible role of Iranian intelligence.
“As of the last ITAC update, alleged threats and suspicious activities directed at targets associated with Israeli, Iranian and Jewish community individuals and interests in Canada continue, including by actors who may be directed by the Iranian Intelligence Service,” the statement said.
Iran has a long history of attacking opponents in Western countries and is suspected of plotting to assassinate critics in Canada, including former Justice Minister Irwin Cotler.
On June 10, Canada joined its allies in condemning “death plots” against Iranian dissidents and members of the Jewish community from Iran.
of joint statement blamed the Intelligence Organization of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the Quds Force and the Ministry of Intelligence and Security.
“The relationship between the Iranian security services and international and domestic criminal groups is stable,” the statement said.
He also condemned attacks across Europe that were claimed by Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiya “and supported by their proxies”.
Last week, Foreign Minister Anita Anand said Canada had no plans to restore diplomatic relations with Iran, which Ottawa severed in 2012.
Her comments followed comments by Prime Minister Mark Carney that the lack of embassies in Iran and Venezuela puts Canada “at a disadvantage.”
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