Minister 'concerned' about Iranian interference — including sleeper cells in Canada

Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand says she's deeply concerned about foreign interference by Iran's regime and the possibility of Tehran activating terrorist sleeper cells on Canadian soil after U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities.

Anand was asked about a Globe and Mail report quoting former Liberal justice minister Irwin Cotler, who warned Iran could use these cells to commit acts of violence in Canada against critics of Iran's regime like himself.

"In addition to Mr. Cotler's remarks, we are very concerned about foreign interference including the types that were highlighted by him," Anand told Canadian media while in the Hague for the NATO summit.

"And we're very concerned about the Iranian regime, generally speaking."

Cotler, a human-rights advocate, revealed last year he was under police protection for his own safety. He said the RCMP told him it thwarted a plot by agents of Iran's regime to assassinate him.

In the U.S., FBI officials are on high alert for Iranian sleeper cells made up of terrorists or spies who often go undetected, living normal lives in Western countries until they are called on for service, CBS News reported.

Iran sent private messages to the U.S. President Donald Trump ahead of his Saturday strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities warning that they would respond with terrorist attacks in the U.S. carried out by sleeper cells in the country, NBC reported.

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The Department of Homeland Security issued a national terrorism advisory on Sunday telling the public that if Iran's leadership called for retaliation, the likelihood would increase that violent extremists could independently mobilize to commit violence.

When asked what action the government is taking to protect Canadians from any potential Iranian terrorism, Anand said Canada listed Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organization last year and cut diplomatic ties over a decade ago.

"We will continue to take any possibility of foreign interference extremely seriously, and that is underscored by the work that we will advocate for here at NATO, as well as the work that we were doing at the G7," Anand said.

Anand also said she had an "unprecedented call" with her Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi on Saturday before the U.S. airstrikes. Her office believes it's the first call of its kind since François-Philippe Champagne did so years ago. He held the foreign affairs portfolio until January 2021.

WATCH | Anand shares topics discussed with Iran:

Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand said she spoke with her Iranian counterpart to help ensure Canadians' safety in Iran, push for a diplomatic resolution to the conflict with Israel and advocate for the victims of flight PS752. Canada has not had diplomatic relations with Iran since 2012.

On that call, Anand said she urged Iran to allow Canadians to leave the country safely, de-escalate the conflict with Israel and return to the negotiating table. She also reaffirmed that Canada is still seeking accountability for Iran's downing of Flight PS752 that killed 55 Canadians and 30 permanent residents in 2020, she said.

Vancouver human rights lawyer Mojdeh Shahriari also shares Cotler's concerns about sleeper cells being activated in Canada. She said like any other terrorist organization, their members blend into the community and have regular jobs like anyone else.

"They're ready to go when needed so that will be based on instructions that they might get from the regime directly from IRGC commanders," she said.

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Shahriari is the co-founder of StopIRGC, a grassroots group that tracks suspected Iranian regime members in Canada. She says they have passed on more than 90 names to national security agencies to investigate since 2022.

She fears that more senior Iranian officials will flee Iran because of the conflict with Israel and seek safe haven in Canada. She says there are already hundreds of regime affiliates and IRGC members she believes have settled in Canada. She calls this a "slow-moving monster" that's only going to speed up.

"My concern is as the regime weakens, they are going to use Canada as their future home more and more," she said. "This has already happened. It's going to accelerate."

After years of pressure to act, in 2022 the federal government designated the Islamic Republic of Iran as a regime that engaged in terrorism and systemic and gross human rights violations under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act. That designation made some Iranian regime members inadmissible to Canada.

The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) says it has cancelled the visas of more than 130 suspected senior Iranian regime members trying to come to Canada since the 2022 designation.

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To date, out of the 20 people CBSA reported inadmissible to Canada for being a senior official in the Iranian regime, only one has been removed from the country. Three people in total have been issued deportation letters after Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada rulings.

Majid Iranmanesh was one of the senior Iranian officials given a deportation order last year. A transcript of the Immigration and Refugee Board's hearing said Iranmanesh was a director-general in the vice-presidency of information and technology, just a few levels away from Iran's president. The board concluded he fell within the top 50 per cent of the hierarchy of the Iranian regime, the transcript said.

The board also expelled Seyed Salman Samani, Iran's former deputy interior minister, from Canada, Global News has reported.

Six other cases are ongoing. CBSA would not provide the identity of the individuals citing privacy concerns.