As Iran reels, Canada must take IRGC threat seriously, group urges
· Toronto Sun
OTTAWA — The death of Iran’s despotic leader over the weekend doesn’t mean Canada’s safe from the influence of his loyalists.
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That’s the message being sent this week by the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA), which said the danger posed by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) is just as real today as it has ever been.
“This is a dangerous regime that has for decades terrorized Israelis, terrorized people throughout the Gulf countries, terrorized its own people domestically and even terrorized people here in Canada, intimidating Iranian-Canadians and plotting the assassination of a former Canadian justice minister on Canadian soil,” CIJA’s chief executive Noah Shack told the Toronto Sun.
“This is a regime that poses a threat to the world and it’s imperative that that threat be addressed.”
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To that end, CIJA is calling on Canadians to urge their MPs to do more to curtail IRGC agents here at home and convince the government to stop offering them safe refuge.
“This is a concerning situation, something that our country needs to take very seriously, both in terms of ensuring that Iranian agents aren’t able to come to Canada and the ones who are already here are swiftly apprehended and and treated as they should be under the law,” Shack said.
He pointed to the overnight shooting at a Richmond Hill gym owned by prominent Iranian-Canadian pro-democracy activist and boxing champion Salar Gholami, whose Yonge St. gym was hit with over 70 rounds just hours after Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s demise.
York Regional Police said the case is under investigation and while a motive has not been determined yet, cops added that they are “working closely with policing and intelligence partners to assess any potential links, including the possibility of politically motivated or transnational elements.”
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Former justice minister also in crosshairs
IRGC agents were also implicated in a 2024 plot to assassinate former Liberal justice minister Irwin Cotler .
Shack also pointed to Iran’s influence in other countries, specifically a series of antisemitic arson attacks in Sydney, Australia, over the summer that prompted their government to declare Iran’s ambassador persona non grata and order his expulsion.
Among the most notorious examples of Iranian aggression worldwide was the January 2020 downing of Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 by an Iranian missile minutes after departing Tehran, killing 176 people aboard including 55 Canadians.
Canada officially named the IRGC a terrorist entity in June 2024 .
Iran prolific sponsor of terrorism
Iran is a prolific state sponsor of terrorism, a key source of funds for Hezbollah in Lebanon and Palestinian terrorist groups such as Hamas and has been accused of funnelling cash to far-left and extremist pro-Palestinian groups in Canada.
Government reports put the number of IRGC agents in Canada at around 700.
The CIJA said the federal government and Opposition Leader Pierre Poilievre have taken the correct path by supporting military action against against the Iranian regime and affirmed Israel’s right to defend itself against terror.
Canada’s Jewish and Iranian communities share common bonds, the CIJA said — as evidenced by the peaceful rallies held by both groups supporting regime change and in stark contrast to the frequent intimidation marches held in Canada by pro-Palestinian and anti-Israel activists.
“No one in Canada should live in fear of the Islamic Republic of Iran and it’s a fundamental duty of our governments and our law enforcement agencies to neutralize that threat and support efforts to hold the Iranian regime accountable,” Shack said.