The Iranian Regime and its Influence in Canada: In the Aftermath of the U.S. Strikes Against the Regime’s Nuclear Sites
- Mark Sandler
- Jun 22
- 12 min read
Article Contents:
Introduction
Last night, President Trump announced that the U.S. military had just carried out massive, precision attacks on the three key nuclear facilities in Iran, Fordo, Natanz, and Isfahan. The U.S. objective, working in partnership with Israel, was to end the nuclear threat posed by the “world’s number one state sponsor of terror.”
Trump stated that “for 40 years, Iran has been saying Death to America, Death to Israel.” He referred to the hundreds of thousands lost throughout the Middle East and around the world as a direct result of the Iranian regime’s hate and pledged that this will not continue.
Pundits and politicians will undoubtedly continue to debate, now with heightened intensity, whether the U.S. and Israel had to act militarily against the Iranian regime or could have first chosen diplomacy -- despite many indications that the Iranian regime had no interest in changing course.
I personally saw little or no scope for diplomacy with a terror state until the existential risk it posed had been severely reduced. Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader since 1989, has made no secret of his regime’s intention to destroy the State of Israel. In 2014, he claimed that there was no cure for Israel but its destruction and predicted in 2015 that Israel will not exist in 25 years. His Holocaust denialism, descriptions of “filthy Zionist agents of the U.S.”, such as “the Jewish member of Trump’s family” and criminal targeting of Jews and Western allies worldwide have made him a personification of evil in our lifetime.
When Iran’s terror proxies were severely weakened by Israel, the regime accelerated its efforts to build nuclear military capacity and produce thousands of ballistic missiles. As reported by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Iran had more than 400 kilograms of 60 per cent enriched uranium (for which the only use is military). If enriched to 90+ per cent, this represented enough uranium for 10 nuclear weapons.
Moreover, the regime repeatedly misled the IAEA, attempted to conceal many of its nuclear activities and disperse and shelter those activities and materials. As Israeli-American scholar Yossi Klein Halevi explained Israelis are no longer under any illusion that they can live next to a genocidal state whose explicit goal is to eradicate them. “When your enemy threatens to destroy you, take them at their word.”
The issue we must wrestle with and take decisive action on is how these events affect what is happening outside the Middle East, especially in Canada.
In November 2024, I reported on the Iranian regime’s foiled plot to assassinate human rights advocate Irwin Cotler. I described the regime’s international and domestic terror network, its impact on Canada and the challenges for Canadian law enforcement in responding to it. These challenges remain formidable.
This opinion piece is a reminder of what we already know about the Iranian regime’s reign of terror, and how the most recent conflict exposes, yet again, not only an appalling double standard applied to Israel, but a virulent strain of antisemitism and hatred in Canada that unites jihadists and the radicalized left.
Iran’s Global Terror Network
The plot to assassinate Mr. Cotler came as little surprise to those familiar with his relentless opposition to Iran’s repressive regime, and its status as the world’s leading terrorist entity internationally and domestically. At the direction of the regime’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, since 1989, it has operated through its many proxies, including Hamas, Hezbollah, Islamic Jihad, the Houthis, and through the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), and its Quds Force. It partnered as well with President Assad in Syria before his demise, and continues to do so with both Iraqi and Syrian militia groups.
The plot directed against Mr. Cotler could not be viewed in isolation. A case in point. Late last year, the U.S. Department of Justice announced federal charges in several indictments against at least 11 individuals arising out of thwarted IRGC-initiated plots to kill Iranian-American political activist Masih Alinejad, to arrange a mass shooting of Israeli tourists in Sri Lanka, and to assassinate two pro-Israel Jewish businessmen living in New York City, and president-elect Donald Trump. Alinejad, a journalist and leading figure in the Iranian women’s dissident movement, had allegedly already been the target of prior kidnapping and assassination schemes.
In May 2020, the U.S. State Department released its report entitled Iran’s Assassinations and Terrorist Activity Abroad. It set out 360 assassinations carried out in the name of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Canada’s Response to Iranian Terrorism
In 2012, Canada listed the IRGC’s Quds Force as a terrorist entity under our Criminal Code. It also designated the Islamic Republic of Iran (Iran) as a State Supporter of Terrorism under the State Immunity Act. This designation, which remains in place today, together with the Justice for Victims of Terrorism Act, allows victims to sue Iran, its terrorist agents, proxies and fellow perpetrators for losses or damages resulting from terrorist activities committed anywhere in the world. In 2024, Canada also listed, albeit belatedly, the IRGC as a terrorist entity.
In a published official response to Iran’s activities, Global Affairs Canada documents the regime’s longstanding history of abhorrent conduct, both domestically and internationally. As reflected in the response, the human rights situation remains dire within Iran. The regime has imposed extensive and systematic repression aiming at containing the legitimate aspirations of the Iranian people, including women and girls, ethnic and religious minorities, human rights defenders, and journalists. Its violent enforcement of mandatory veiling laws led to the tragic death of Jina Mahsa Amini on September 16, 2022, which sparked global protests under the banner “Women, Life, Freedom.”
In response to mass-protests, Iran violently cracked down with brutal force, arrests and executions. Indeed, staggering numbers of Iranians have been executed in recent years. Ebrahim Raisi, former President of Iran, who died in a 2024 helicopter crash, earned himself the nickname, “Butcher of Tehran” for his involvement in the execution of thousands of Iranian political prisoners.
In its official response, Canada also describes Iran’s contribution to regional destabilization through a network of aligned armed groups, earlier identified. Iran’s support for these groups included funding, the provision of arms and training.
Iran and the United Nations
The Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Iran released a report in March 2024, affirming that Iranian authorities had committed egregious human rights violations, including unlawful deaths, extra-judicial executions, disproportionate force, arbitrary arrests and detention, torture and ill-treatment, rape and sexual violence, enforced disappearances and gender persecution. Arrests, torture, and judicially sanctioned murders of Iranian dissidents continue unabated.
In late 2024, the UN Social, Humanitarian and Cultural Committee approved a draft resolution, “Situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran,” that would have the General Assembly condemn the alarming increase in the application of the death penalty by Iran, in violation of its international obligations, including on the basis of forced confessions, and without fair trial and due process.
Canada’s delegate, who introduced the draft, described Iran’s blatant disregard for human life, noting that “Tehran uses the death penalty against people exercising their right to freedom of expression, opinion and peaceful assembly. Moreover, ethnic minorities and women are increasingly being handed down the death penalty,” asserting that “This can no longer continue.”
I have not cited the UN draft resolution out of any sense of confidence that the UN will take meaningful steps to address Iran’s reign of terror. In November 2023, the Islamic Republic of Iran was elected as Chair of the United Nations Human Rights Council Social Forum. This election prompted UN Watch to ask, “how can you elevate a regime that beats, blinds, tortures and rapes women who demand their rights? Where is the logic? Where is the morality?”
And then, in March 2024, the presidency of the UN Conference on Disarmament – yes, disarmament -- was handed over to the same regime. These appointments should have told us everything we needed to know, as if worldwide Jewry needed any further proof, about the UN’s ability or inclination to end Iranian terror domestically and internationally. I merely cite the draft resolution as further proof that the Canadian government and Canadians more generally can have no illusions about what the Islamic Republic of Iran stands for.
And yet...
The vast majority of Canadians remain uninformed about the full extent of Iran’s complicity in terrorism, and more importantly, its impact on Canadians.
And yet...
A significant number of anti-Israel protestors are more than willing to be aligned with this terror state and its agents and proxies operating here in Canada. This was true when I wrote about it in 2024 and remains true today.
Case in point: Remember when, at about 4 pm EST, on April 13, 2024, Iran launched more than 300 drones and missiles against Israel? This was Iran’s first direct attack on Israel’s homeland. Iran's proxies Hamas, Hezbollah, Islamic Jihad, and the Houthis had done the lion’s share of its dirty work up to then. In Canada, the news of this attack was greeted with celebratory demonstrations, one captured in a 44-second video taken by Caryma Sa’d, a frequent chronicler of protests. The demonstrators are shown cheering, beating drums and lighting smoke bombs as the attack was announced.
As reported by the National Post, the celebrations continued the following day, when video posted to Ottawa4Palestine’s Instagram account showed an Ottawa demonstrator singing a song that included, “leave Palestine alone and Jews go back to Europe.” A video in Montreal showed demonstrators chanting “Put the bullet in the house of fire … we are your men, Sinwar.” A Calgary video clip showed a man at the edge of an anti-Israel rally holding a portrait of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khameini and holding his arm in a fascist salute.
Of course, these celebrations were chillingly similar to those that immediately followed the October 7 massacres. And to those that followed Houthi attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea. In the latter instance, chants included, “Yemen, Yemen, make us proud." Turn another ship around.” The Houthis ostensibly “making [them] proud” rally under a slogan that states (as translated): “God is the Greatest. Death to America. Death to Israel. Curse be Upon the Jews. Victory to Islam.” (As I will describe below, the current Iran-Israel conflict has been generating the same evil rhetoric.)
Iran’s Influence on Canadian Society
Last year, Charlotte Kates, leader of Samidoun, designated as a terrorist organization in Canada and the United States, took time from her busy schedule of hatemongering, to travel to Iran. There, she received a “human rights” award from the Iranian government (just another indication how theatre of the absurd dominates international morality), appeared on Iranian television to glowingly endorse the October 7 massacres, and was lauded by the head of Iran’s judiciary, himself complicit in the gross human rights violations earlier described.
Again, this connection between a terrorist group operating in Canada and the Iranian regime should surprise no one. Evidence has emerged that Iran was behind the campus protests at McGill University. Analysts at cyber security company XPOZ, used AI technology “to unmask the networks and campaigns behind ‘inauthentic’ users interacting on a large scale.” An August 2024 report by Canadian-Iranian journalist, Negar Mojtahedi, describes the analysts’ work. The collected data appears to demonstrate that Canada is subject to the use of deceptive mass influence campaigns, in this instance, coordinated by Iran, to target Canadian society through proxies.
Joel Finkelstein, the co-founder of the Network Contagion Research Institute, acknowledged that “the claims being made by the research may be hard to determine in specificity, but are largely uncontroversial in terms of broader trends.” He told the National Post that “Based on our data, these assertions align with observed trends and are credible.”
Michael Bonner, senior fellow with the Aristotle Foundation for Public Policy, added that “Iranian intelligence now targets Western domestic culture and political weaknesses and inflames them, as we saw in recent protests.”
These findings resonate generally with government reports on point. In its annual report, CSIS highlighted the cyber-attacks by the Iranian regime that target Canada. CSIS also indicated that “officials from Iran are likely monitoring, influencing, and collecting information on the Iranian diaspora community in Canada as part of its efforts to prevent criticism of the regime.” It also observed that Iran seeks to silence Canada-based critics through harassment and intimidation, including Canada-based families of several victims of the downing of Flight PS752.
In 2024, following several months of often violent pro-Hamas protests across the United States, Avril Haines, the U.S. Director of National Intelligence stated that the Islamic Republic of Iran has been encouraging and funding some of these demonstrations. She indicated that the regime has “become increasingly aggressive in their foreign influence efforts” and has “sought to opportunistically take advantage of ongoing protests regarding the war in Gaza.” Her agency has “observed actors tied to Iran’s government posing as activists online, seeking to encourage protests, and even providing financial support to protestors.”
Current Events
And now?
Just a few days ago, on June 17, protestors at a rally in New York City’s Times Square chanted, “Iran, Iran makes us proud. Burn Tel Aviv to the ground”, “US drones in the sky. Iran’s missiles will reply!” And “Courts and talks won’t set us free, resistance brings victory!”
The day before, in Montreal, protestors chanted, “hit, hit Tel Aviv”, unambiguous calls for the murder of Israeli civilians, not military targets.
In England, protestors carried signs that included a photograph of Khamenei with the caption, “Choose The Right Side of History”. It is difficult to imagine a more chilling indictment of a world in which the endorsement of genocidal terror is so normalized.
But you need not engage your imagination. In the aftermath of Israel’s strikes against Iran’s nuclear facilities, a meme spread quickly across TikTok: “Iran, if you’re listening, just do it.” As reported by Combat Antisemitism Movement, the meme went viral, with videos explicitly or implicitly calling for Israel’s destruction, praising Iran’s missile attacks, and featuring disturbing references to Hitler and Nazi ideology. One post alone garnered over 1.4 million views before being removed.
And what about Toronto …
The “usual suspects” have rushed in to support the Iranian regime against the “imperialist” “Zionist” hordes. Leading the charge is CUPE Ontario and its President Fred Hahn, organizing an upcoming “Hands-Off Iran” rally at the U.S. consulate in Toronto. The rally’s co-sponsors include the Palestinian Youth Movement, a hate group that openly celebrates Hamas’ barbarities. Hahn, a radicalized meddler in matters unrelated to the union mandate or its members best interests, and his disciples, have made CUPE Ontario an embarrassment to responsible members of the Canadian labour movement.
In addition to the abuse of the union’s bully pulpit to advance an overtly political and hateful agenda, ponder this:
How does an ostensibly progressive left union ignore or minimize the Iranian regime’s ruthless suppression and judicially-sanctioned executions of dissenters, the abdication of women’s rights and the criminalization of same-sex activities, punishable by imprisonment or death?
How does an ostensibly progressive left union find common cause with jihadists who do not seek a two-state solution in the Middle East but a Jew-free Palestine?
How does an ostensibly progressive left union (and for that matter, many Canadians) ignore Iran’s indiscriminate missile attacks on civilians (offering not even the pretext of military targets), residential areas, one of the world’s leading medical research centres, and a hospital in Beersheba?
It is simple. Despite the protestations to the contrary, Jews don’t count. Or worse. Israeli Arabs apparently don’t count either as missiles rained down on an Israeli Arab village and damaged a mosque in Haifa.
What a double standard. The radical left hate Israel so much that they are prepared to overlook, tolerate, and at times, even embrace a regime antithetical to everything the progressive left should stand for.
It is also reported that members of the Iranian regime may already be seeking refuge in Canada, hardly a surprising development, if true, in light of the undoubted presence of IRGC agents in Canada, and the normalization of hatred on our streets.
Yet Another Wakeup Call
When will all Canadians wake up to what is happening in their midst? This affects them as well, not just Jews. The vast majority of Iranian Canadians understand. They denounce the Iranian regime. Although understandably torn by the exposure of their loved ones in Iran to the war, many have been vocal in supporting Israel and the West in the fight against Islamic extremism. They have lived through it.
When I originally commented on the assassination plot against Irwin Cotler, I questioned whether Canada was adequately prepared to address Iranian-led extremism in our midst. I posed a series of questions in my previous editorial that remain unanswered. Similar questions can be asked about the radical left. At what point will Canadians recognize what is happening? And will it be too late?
Watch for an upcoming call to action of what all Canadians, governments and union members can do to reverse what is happening all too frequently in our midst.
About the Author
Mark Sandler, LL.B., LL.D. (honoris causa), ALCCA’s Chair, is widely recognized as one of Canada’s leading criminal lawyers and pro bono advocates. He has been involved in combatting antisemitism for over 40 years. He has lectured extensively on legal remedies to combat hate and has promoted respectful Muslim-Jewish, Sikh-Jewish and Black-Jewish dialogues. He has appeared before Parliamentary committees and in the Supreme Court of Canada on multiple occasions on issues relating to antisemitism and hate activities. He is a former member of the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal, a three-time elected Bencher of the Law Society of Ontario, and recipient of the criminal profession’s highest honour, the G. Arthur Martin Medal, for his contributions to the administration of criminal justice.