Canadian authorities recently foiled an alleged Iranian plot to assassinate Irwin Cotler, a former justice minister who has been a strong critic of Tehran, Cotler’s organization said.
The 84-year-old was justice minister and attorney general from 2003 to 2006. He retired from politics in 2015 but has remained active with many associations that campaign for human rights around the world.
The Globe and Mail newspaper reported that he was informed on October 26 that he faced an imminent threat—within 48 hours —of assassination from Iranian agents.
Authorities tracked two suspects in the plot, the paper said, citing an unnamed source.
In an email to AFP, the Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights, where Cotler is international chair, confirmed the Globe and Mail report.
Cotler “has no knowledge or details regarding any arrests made,” said Brandon Golfman, an organization spokesman.
Tehran late on Monday denied what it described as “the claim of Canadian media that Iran tried to assassinate a Canadian person,” the official IRNA news agency reported, citing Issa Kameli, the director general for the Americas at the foreign ministry.
The Iranian diplomat denounced the report as “ridiculous storytelling and in line with the misinformation campaign against Iran”.
A spokesperson for Canadian Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc declined to comment, telling AFP: “We cannot comment on, nor confirm specific RCMP (Royal Canadian Mounted Police) operations due to security reasons.”
Another senior government minister, Francois-Philippe Champagne, called the plot “very concerning.”
Cotler, who is Jewish and a strong backer of Israel, has advocated globally to have Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps listed as a terrorist entity.
