Op-Ed written by Shabnam Assadollahi
The Government of Canada made the right decision to close down the Embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Ottawa. Some Iranians living in Canada have criticized the Government’s move for the inconveniences that it has caused them in receiving consular services, such as renewal of their Iranian passports. We must, however, be cognitive of the fact that Iran’s covert operations abroad pose a real threat, and the Government of Canada has a responsibility to protect its citizen, a responsibility which supersede the aforementioned inconveniences. We must also not forget that the Islamic Republic is a dictatorial regime, and as such, its embassy did not represent the will of the Iranian people but rather the radical and hidden agenda of its leaders. Keeping this in mind and as a next step, the Government of Canada must look carefully and extensively into the background of those who wish to come to Canada as well as questionable individuals already here and their affiliation with the Iranian regime.
The Government’s decision to end diplomatic relations with the Islamic Republic followed revelations of questionable activities and statements by Iranian officials in Canada. In 2012, my colleague and I translated and made public troubling statements by Hamid Mohammadi, the cultural affairs counsellor at Iran’s former embassy in Ottawa, in which he had urged Iranian-Canadians to “occupy high-level key positions” and “resist being melted into the dominant Canadian culture.” Maclean’s (link here) reported that “through its embassy, and the ‘cultural centre’ within it, Iran aggressively reached out to the Iranian diaspora”. In 2010, the magazine exposed the “Center for Iranian Studies” in Toronto as the regime’s front, identifying one of its directors as the brother of Ali Larijani, Iran’s speaker of parliament, and Sadeq Larijani, the head of its judiciary.
Another is the “Iranian Cultural Centre” in Ottawa, which operated within the Embassy’s close oversight while delivering programs under the disguise of cultural activities. Yet another example is the “Iranian Cultural Association of Carleton University,” at the time headed by the son of the above-mentioned cultural affairs counsellor. The student association organized propaganda in support of the Iranian regime, including an event commemorating the life and “teachings” the regime’s founding dictator, who was responsible for ordering the execution of thousands political opponents, suppressing human rights and the treatment of women as second-class citizens. Even more worrisome is when it was revealed that such “teachings” had found their way into grade 3 Iranian textbooks used in an Ottawa school; teachings that glorified child soldiery and suicide-martyrdom.
Terrorist regimes use infiltration as a means to achieve their goals, and the Iranian regime is no exception. In a 500-page indictment issued in May 2013, Dr. Alberto Nisman, an Argentinean prosecutor investigating the 1994 bombing of the largest Jewish community center in Buenos Aires, provided evidence to the extent of Iran’s infiltration, intelligence and terrorist network across Latin America. According to Nisman, Iran has sought “to infiltrate the countries of Latin America and install secret intelligence stations with the goal of committing, fomenting and fostering acts of international terrorism in concert with its goals of exporting the revolution”, Associated Press reports (link here). Mohesen Rabbani, a former Iranian cultural attaché in Argentina, is believed to be the mastermind behind the bombing and the “coordinator of the Iranian infiltration of South America.” Among those included in the indictment are two of Iran’s 2013 presidential candidates, as well as its former president Rafsanjani, who now associates himself with Iran’s reformists.
The indictment comes at same time as the sentencing of Mansour Arbabsiar, an Iranian-American, who pleaded guilty for his role in assassination plot against Adel al-Jubeir, Ambassador of Saudi Arabia to the United States. According to Preet Bharara, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Mr. Arbabsiar was “the key conduit for, and facilitator of, a nefarious international plot concocted by members of the Iranian military to assassinate the Saudi Ambassador to the United States and as many innocent bystanders as necessary to get the job done.” According to the indictment filed in federal court, Arbabsiar plotted the attack with his Iran-based co-conspirators, including members of Iran’s Qods Force. The Qods Force is a special unit with the Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, which seeks to export the Islamic Revolution to other countries and conducts covert operations abroad including terrorist attacks, assassinations and kidnappings. In October 2007, the U.S. Treasury Department designated the Qods Force as a terrorist supporter for providing material support to the Taliban and other terrorist organization. In December 2012, Canada also added Qods to its list of entities under the Anti-Terrorism Act.
The Islamic Republic of Iran is a state sponsor of terrorism. At each of its Friday Prayers in Tehran, the regime openly and regularly, declares death threats against the United States, Canada and their Western allies. Given Iran’s history, it would be wise not to take these threats lightly.
The Government of Canada has an important responsibility to protect our democracy and ensure the safety of Canadians. Closing down of the Embassy of the Islamic Republic has certainly hampered Iran’s covert operations in Canada. However, with the expulsion of Iranian diplomats, we cannot simply assume that all elements of the Iranian regime have been removed. Canada must identify if any individuals have been left behind by the regime and take action to curtail those activities that pose a risk to Canada. Moreover,the Government should also question the real motives of the regime’s apologists who defend the Islamic Republic against criticism while seeking to reverse Canada’s policies on Iran.
Finally, the Government of Canada cannot allow the possibility of the Iranian regime using Canada’s territory as a base for organizing covert operations against the United States. For this, it is important to ensure that Canada and the United States have a common approach to addressing infiltration and terrorist activities sponsored by the Islamic Republic of Iran. The “Beyond the Border” initiative, which was announced in 2011 by the Prime Minister Stephen Harper and President Barack Obama, provides the right framework for such discussion. An Action Plan under the Initiative proposes improvements to cooperative law enforcement capacity and intelligence-sharing as well as cooperation best practices to prevent and counter homegrown violent extremism.
The above are important steps but Canada must do a great deal more and take proactive measures to identify the Islamic Republic of Iran’s covert activities, including its efforts to gain support in Canada.
Shabnam Assadollahi is a Human Rights Activist from Ottawa, Canada
Canada doing the right thing keeping an eye on the enemy. Here in the US too many in our government openly invite the enemy in and bow to them. IMHO we have much to fear from many in our own government..
We also know that most of the Other Then Mexicans that are caught crossing our Southern Border are from the Middle East, also the Border Patrol is daily finding prayer rugs in the desert.