Canadian intelligence investigating ‘credible’ Iranian death threats against individuals in Canada
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Hashim Sheikh
- . November 19, 2022
- . Update: November 19, 2022 3:18 pm
The Canadian intelligence service has started investigating what it calls multiple “credible” death threats from the Islamic Republic of Iran to individuals in Canada.
The Spy agency said on Friday that Iran intimidated people inside Canada to silence those who speak out against the Iranian regime. CSIS (Canadian Security Intelligence Service) spokesperson Eric Balsam reportedly said, “CSIS is actively investigating several threats to life emanating from Iran based on credible intelligence.”
In a media statement to CBC News, Balsam said that Iran’s “hostile activities” and “foreign interference” undermine the security of people in Canada.
This is the first time the agency has confirmed multiple ongoing investigations on what it described as Iranian “credible” threats to people in Canada. The details of the threats were released to CBC News.
Read | Iranian journalists next on target as Iran continues crackdown on protesters
On Wednesday, Canada sanctioned Iran for the fifth time over human rights abuses in the Islamic Republic. Canada also imposed sanctions on entities that supplied drones to Russia for its “war” in Ukraine. Canada sanctioned Shahed Aviation, which produced drones that were used against civilians and infrastructure in Ukraine, said Canada’s foreign ministry.
This week, the United Kingdom (UK) intelligence said that there had been at least ten threats by Iran to individuals in Britain. On Wednesday, Britain’s domestic intelligence chief said that the UK faced a major security threat from Iran. Ken McCallum, director general of MI5, the UK’s security agency, said that Iran’s “aggressive intelligence services” were a threat to the UK.
For the past two months, huge protests have taken to the streets in Iran to protest against the regime after the death of the 22-year-old Iranian woman Mahsa Amini. Huge protests are still continuing in many parts of the country.
According to the Human Rights Activists News Agency, at least 341 people, including children, have been killed and more than 15,800 have been detained in the Islamic Republic.
