Alleged assassination plot against Irwin Cotler by Iranian agents foiled by law enforcement

Iranian agents allegedly plotted to assassinate Canadian human rights advocate and former Liberal justice minister Irwin Cotler, a longtime vocal critic of Iran.

Details of the alleged plot, which was foiled by law enforcement, were first reported by The Globe and Mail citing unnamed sources on Monday, and confirmed to CTV News by Cotler’s office.

According to The Globe and Mail, the source says Cotler was informed of an imminent threat on his life late last month.

CTV News has spoken with his office, but Cotler, the founder and chair of the Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights, is unavailable for an interview, and will not be issuing a statement.

Procurement Minister Jean-Yves Duclos told reporters Monday morning that Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc is “fully aware of these allegations.”

But a statement from LeBlanc’s office to CTV News says the minister “cannot comment on or confirm any specific RCMP operations for security reasons.”

In an email statement to CTV News, the RCMP says it does not disclose the details of its protective measures, nor does it confirm the identities of the people receiving protection.

"Protective measures are based on ongoing threat and risk assessments," the statement reads, adding the law enforcement agency therefore has "no further comment at this time."

Liberal MP Anthony Housefather — the prime minister’s new special advisor on Jewish community relations and anti-Semitism — said it’s important for Canadians to recognize the threat Iran poses to Canada and to the world.

“It is a shocking and horrible thing, and it's totally unacceptable, but what the Islamic Republic of Iran is doing and what others are doing who are bringing terror into our communities,” Housefather said in an interview with CTV News.

He pointed to Canada’s sanctions against Iran, as well as its designation of the IRGC as a terrorist organization.

Also in an interview with CTV News, former Canadian Security and Intelligence Service national security director Dan Stanton said Cotler could be considered a prime target of a regime like Iran’s.

“(I’m) not shocked in the sense that this is part of the MO of the Iranian regime of trying to silence anyone who criticizes the regime,” he said.

“Because of his profile, his status, if you want to deliver a message, he is, I guess, a viable target, that no one is really safe from this type of activity,” he also said.

Stanton said the practice of assassination attempts plotted by agents of foreign governments and carried out by proxies is fairly new, but already widespread, in terms of the number of countries doing it.

“It's messier, and it's also a bit of an Achilles heel for these regimes, because they're vulnerable in the sense that these individuals are not operating with good security,” Stanton said, pointing to similar alleged foiled attempts by Russia, India, and Iran. “They're indiscreet. They're often drawing the attention of law enforcement, and they get caught.”

“So, they have to reach out and use these people, but at the same time, it's most likely their operations are going to be identified and disrupted,” he added.

Cotler, who is also a former special envoy on preserving Holocaust remembrance and combatting antisemitism, confirmed to CTV News last December that he was under 24-hour security protection, but would not say why.

“I don't know what it's connected to, as I said, they should speak to the RCMP about it,” Cotler told CTV News Channel’s Power Play host Vassy Kapelos then. “The report is correct, that I do have a security protection but I haven’t spoken about it.”

Cotler added that he was receiving “excellent protection,” and that he felt “safe” at the time of the interview.

Housefather said it’s “incredibly serious” and “awful” that one of the “greatest living Canadians” must be under constant guard.

“He is one of the most optimistic, one of the strongest people that I've ever known, and he just throws himself into work, more than anyone else,” Housefather said. “The man works 24 hours a day on trying to help human rights around the world, and that's what he's focused on, and fighting anti-Semitism here in Canada and around the world.”

Housefather adds that Canadians should be “horrified” that Cotler “has to live like this.”

With files from CTV News’  Mike Le Couteur, Samantha Pope, and Stephanie Ha