The main driver of the Iran ‘sleeper cells’ paranoia in Canada, Irwin Cotler, at Canada’s parliament in 2018. Credit: @IrwinCotler/’X’

Editor’s note: The Canada Files is the country's only news outlet focused on Canadian foreign policy. We've provided critical investigations & hard-hitting analysis on Canadian foreign policy since 2019, and need your support.

Please consider setting up a monthly or annual donation through Donorbox.

Written by: Jack Dempster and Aidan Jonah

On June 13, the occupying Israeli state launched an unprovoked military operation against the Islamic Republic of Iran. Iran hit back hard in the following two weeks, forcing the US/Israel to temporarily pause their war of aggression.

After Iran’s retaliation began, a key Canadian political figure made an unproven claim of Iranian “sleeper cells” in Canada posing a danger to the lives of Canadians against the Iranian government. This claim was lapped up by Canada’s mainstream media. Meanwhile, pro-Israel members of the Iranian Canadian community praised Israel for targeting Iran’s nuclear program and attempting to cause regime change. However, not all Iranian Canadians support the destruction of Iran for western imperialism’s benefit. One national organization even opposes the war on Iran.

The 12-day war

Israel’s military operation, code-named Rising Lion, began with air strikes at the Natanz fuel enrichment plant as well as the Isfahan nuclear technological complex. The strikes resulted in the death of several top Iranian military leaders, as well as the death and wounding of many civilians.

In return, Iran launched Operation True Promise III, firing drones and missiles into the heart of the occupied territories. War began, with daily Zionist strikes being met with waves of Iranian counterattacks. The Zionist regime killed hundreds of civilians and severely disrupted daily life. But Iran kept hitting back, including with direct strikes on Tel Aviv, Haifa, as well as upon important Zionist military and security institutions. Israel had to scurry to Washington to ask for help.

On June 21, the USA directly entered the war, dropping 17 bombs and firing 24 cruise missiles on Iranian nuclear sites at Isfahan, Natanz, and Fordow. On June 23, Iran fired back, hitting the USA Al Udeid airbase in Qatar. These events signalled the highest escalation of the so-called 12-Day War.

As it stands now, a shaky quasi-ceasefire persists between the Zionist government and Iran.

Canada’s government supports war on Iran

On June 22, a Toronto demonstration was organized and sponsored by groups including the Palestinian Youth Movement, the Iranian Canadian Congress, and various trade unions. The demonstration denounced the Zionist and USA strikes on Iran. There was also a small counterdemonstration featuring Zionists and Iranian monarchists who supported the military aggression on Iran. This counterdemonstration was protected by the Toronto police, who faced the pro-Iran demonstration with lines of cops and horses.

Some of the pro-Iran demonstrators carried Iranian national flags or placards of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamanei. This raised hysteria on Zionist social media, with fresh calls from the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs to “act against Iranian terrorism,” “block Iranian agents from operating in or entering Canada,” and “ban the glorification of terrorism in Canada.”

The Zionists don’t have to hustle to get the ear of the state. Canadian government policy towards Iran is one of official hostility. True to form, Operation Rising Lion elicited support from Mark Carney’s Liberal regime, with Global Affairs Canada issuing a statement on June 14, condemning Iran’s retaliatory strikes and calling Iran a “persistent threat to regional stability and to Israel, which has the right to defend itself.” In this way, Israel and Canada share a belligerent stance towards Iran.

While supporting Zionist aggression abroad, the Canadian state has also been honing their machinery of repression at home. Iranians are a central target. In 2012, Canada named the Islamic Republic as a supposed “State Supporter of Terrorism.” That year, Canada broke off relations with Iran, expelling Iranian diplomats while closing the Canadian embassy in Teheran. In 2022, Canada designated Iranian leadership as inadmissible to Canada for their supposed “engagement in terrorism.” Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) members are also outright banned from entering Canada. In 2024, the Canadian state criminalized the IRGC as a supposed “terrorist entity,” explicitly condemning them for “association with” groups such as Hezbollah and Hamas. The Qods Force wing of the IRGC was already proscribed in 2012.

Now, after Iran beat back the US / Israeli blitzkrieg, Canada is whipping up a paranoid atmosphere aimed at the Iranian diaspora. Politicians, the media, the Zionists and various Iranian gusanos are in a drive to discipline the Iranian diaspora, pressuring Iranians in Canada to stay loyal to imperialism and to Israel.

Politicians and media fantasize about “sleeper cells”

The Globe and Mail, the primary newspaper of the Canadian ruling class, has recently published an outlandish article citing former Liberal justice minister Irwin Cotler, who claimed that Iran has “activated sleeper cells in Canada to carry out acts of violence against opponents of the regime.” In the article, Cotler warned that Iran’s “policy is to target Jews and others abroad” and warned against so-called “Iranian penetration.” Notably, the article did not include any evidence that “sleeper cells” actually exist in Canada.

Cotler, a hardcore Zionist, claims to be directly marked for assassination by Iran. He also has links to the Mujahedin-e Khalq (MEK) cult.

The Globe and Mail article went on to cite a number of Canadian officials, including Public Safety Canada spokesperson Noémie Allard, who claimed that “a violent extremist attack is a realistic possibility at this time.” We also learned that CSIS, the Canadian state’s main spy agency, “continues to investigate threats to life emanating from the Islamic Republic of Iran.”

In another Globe and Mail article, Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand agreed that “In addition to Mr. Cotler’s remarks, we are very concerned about foreign interference, including the types that were highlighted by him, and we’re very concerned about the Iranian regime, generally speaking, that’s why we declared it a terrorist entity.” All of this could be setting the table for a false-flag operation on Canadian soil.

Again, the article included no evidence on any Iranian “foreign interference.”

It’s not just the Liberals who are making a fuss. Conservative MP Melissa Lantsman, a staunch supporter of the Zionist regime, continues to raise a hue and cry over “IRGC terrorists” entering Canada. Meanwhile, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre has said that “Liberals must… immediately deport any senior IRGC officials in Canada.”

The Canadian Border Security Agency (CBSA) is on the front lines of state repression. The mainstream media reported that three individuals have recently “been found ineligible to remain in Canada in recent years for being senior officials of the Iranian regime,” according to CBSA. The article stated that Iranian “visa applicants are carefully assessed by the immigration department” and that as of June 6, “about 17,800 applications were reviewed for potential inadmissibility due to possible links to the Iranian regime” with dozens of visa cancellations and investigations being held.

But the government and its allies wants more political screening of Iranian immigrants. Yet another Canadian Zionist organization, Allies for a Strong Canada, has sent a letter to Mark Carney, calling among other things “to act decisively to counter Iran’s malign influence,” to “enhance security measures to counter Iranian agents operating on Canadian soil,” and to “ensure that fleeing members of the IRGC are not permitted entry into Canada.”

The Canadian state is blatantly dedicated to helping its Zionist partners repress and police the Iranian Canadian diaspora. While sharply repressing any Iranian connected with “the regime,” the government meanwhile elicits support from those Iranians who support Israel.

Canada state gets help from gusanos

For the Canadian state and Zionists, anyone who dares to oppose the Zionist entity is an enemy. Hamas, Hezbollah, Ansarallah are listed as supposed “terrorist” groups, and their members dehumanized as monsters which the Zionists have every right to murder. Since the Islamic Republic of Iran is the biggest (and one of the only) states which backs the Palestinian cause, it is only natural that western imperialism and its Zionist entity have their guns aimed at Iran.

To help bolster the hysterics over “regime supporters,” the Canadian state can count on various Iranian gusanos, both monarchist and liberal. These gusanos have joined hands with Ottawa to defend Israeli military aggression on Iran. They have stridently called for all “regime supporters” in Canada to be policed, surveilled, arrested, and deported.

Take Kaveh Shahrooz, an Iranian Canadian lawyer who recently took to the Toronto tabloids to motivate the political policing of the Iranian diaspora. In the article, which also cited a number of Zionist figures, Shahrooz claimed that “many….. Iranian Canadians are very worried about regime officials, particularly senior IRGC figures, coming to Canada in the coming days and weeks.” He raised the spectre of an army of Shi’a Islamists besieging Canada, asserting that “These regime officials may even have permanent residency or Canadian citizenship.” He worried that “many such officials may escape to Canada and live lives of leisure, with no accountability for their heinous crimes.”

On Twitter / X, Shahrooz celebrated the Zionist strikes on Iran, ludicrously stating that “A knockout blow to Iran's regime is the greatest thing Israel can do for peace.” He also believes that “Israel has an undeniable right to defend itself” – ie,’ to bomb and terrorize any group or state which stands in its way.

In another article in the Toronto Sun, Shahrooz gave further defense to the Zionist aggression on Iran, stating that “I’m strongly in favour of action that removes this regime. But I’m also keeping a close eye on the casualty numbers. I’m not mourning regime officials, but want civilian casualties kept to a minimum.”

Shahrooz is associated with both the neo-con MacDonald-Laurier Institute as well as the pro-war Iranian Justice Collective. On Twitter / X, IJC released a statement sponsoring the Zionist aggression on Iran, with their statement stating that “given the regime’s long history of sponsoring terrorism and destabilizing the region…we believe Iran’s regime should be prevented from obtaining nuclear weapons, provided that such prevention efforts minimize harm to innocent civilians and uphold international law.”

Canadian and Iranian liberals find within their souls a few crumbs to toss at Palestinian and Iranian civilians – but if anyone stands in the way of Tel Aviv’s war aims, let hell rain down upon them.

A few inches to the right of the liberals, we find the monarchists, supporters of the deposed dictatorship of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. Pahlavi’s son has made a name for himself hobnobbing with Netanyahu and supporting Zionist military strikes on his own homeland.

Goldie Ghamari, an MPP in Canada’s Ontario province, formerly a parliamentarian of the governing Progressive Conservative party, who was fired after meeting with English Defense League founder Tommy Robinson, adores the Pahlavi family. She is dedicated to the Zionist war on Iran and to regime change. On Twitter / X, Ghamari regularly spews vitriol against Palestinians, ranting against “pro-Palestine Jihadi savages in Canada” and speaking in Nazi-like language that “Israel is exterminating…Islamic regime thugs with surgical precision.” She described a New York pro-Iran rally as “a vile crowd of terrorist supporters…a bunch of Arabs, Pakistanis, and…communists.”

Ghamari’s chauvinism is in line with the violent history of Iranian monarchism. While in power, the Shah tortured and executed communists, Islamists, and other political opponents of his regime.

Iranian monarchists and the anti-Islamic Republic liberals may have some political differences, but they agree on the basics. They think that their homeland should be restored as a neo-colony, with western imperialism working through compliant Iranian compradors to exploit Iran’s working class and natural resources. They dehumanize their political opponents as “terrorists” and argue that Tel Aviv and the west must intervene to smash the Islamic Republic and thus “Free Iran.”

The Iranian gusano opposition exploits contradictions within Iran to call for violations of the country’s sovereignty. But there are other Iranians who believe that whatever issues are in Iran should be worked out by Iranians – not by western sanctions and bombs.

These Iranian Canadians oppose war on Iran

While the mainstream media loves to amplify only the most reactionary section of the Iranian diaspora, in reality Iranians here and abroad have a wide variety of political opinions. For exampleLast month, the secular Iranian Canadian Congress (ICC) published a statement condemning the Zionist/USA aggression on Iran. In the statement, the ICC condemned “in the strongest terms the attacks last night by the United States on Iranian soil, which recklessly ran the risk of untold harm to Iran’s population with nuclear fallout by bombing civilian nuclear infrastructure sites” and called out Canadian politicians for their support to the war on Iran.

In an interview with The Canada Files, Reza Namdari, a member and former ICC board member, said that the anti-Iran lobby is dedicated to “demonizing Iranians… especially Iranians who are not aligned with their anti-Iran policies.”

Namdari noted that political pressures on the Iranian diaspora go back years. As noted previously, in 2012, the Canadian government cut off diplomatic relations with the Islamic Republic of Iran, expelling from Canada all Iranian diplomats and closing the Canadian embassy in Iran. Reza noted that “we are… used to being considered as second-class citizens in Canada. When you don’t have an embassy, you don’t have access to consular services in Canada.” In the recent war, many Iranian Canadians were simply left stranded in Iran, with the Canadian government unable to help.

“The whole thing is a witch-hunt,” said Namdari. “They want to create situations. They want to make it possible to attack and silence Iranian Canadians who are not aligned with the policies of the Canadian government on Iran.”

Namdari noted, however, that Iranian Canadians would not remain silent in the face of war. He praised the mid-June Canadian demonstrations, during which Iranians marched alongside Palestinians, Yemenis, and Lebanese in solidarity against US/Israeli aggression.

The state poses a danger to Iranians and other diasporas

While paranoid fantasies such as “sleeper cells” may seem laughable, this atmosphere of racist paranoia has deadly consequences. As outlined above, the capitalist state is already cracking down on so-called “regime agents,” and is promising further political repression. This comes along with an escalating crackdown on the Palestinian community and their allies, who are also regularly demonized as “terrorists” and subject to police violence and arrests. Now, with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney tightening the border to please US President Donald Trump, the threat from the capitalist state is more severe than ever.

Down south, Trump is also invoking the spectre of “sleeper cells.” Hundreds of Iranian nationals are in ICE detention, with over a hundred arrested during the recent war. Former US Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson went on “Fox & Friends” to rant that “The presence in this country of undocumented migrants or Iranian nationals who have links to Hezbollah, IRGC, is, in my judgment, a domestic law enforcement concern of the highest magnitude.”

Amid this burgeoning crackdown on Iranians and Palestinians in North America, along with the McCarthyite crackdown on Chinese Canadians, it is imperative that trade unionists, workers, and all supporters of oppressed peoples rally to the defense of those who are targeted by the deadly machinery of western imperialism and colonialism.

Jack Dempster is a socialist trade unionist and writer based in Toronto, Ontario.

Aidan Jonah is the Editor-in-Chief of The Canada Files, an independent news outlet covering Canadian foreign policy with a strong focus on Canada-China relations. Jonah wrote a report for the 48th session of the UN Human Rights Council, held in September 2021.

More Articles

Featured