Iran’s intelligence services may be behind the latest attacks in Canada, according to a secret government report obtained by Global News.
The threat assessment said it was “likely” that Iran used local criminal networks to target the Canadian Jewish community.
The report said “actors possibly targeted by the Iranian Intelligence Services” were also accused of threatening Israeli and Iranian communities and interests.
An intelligence report on Canadian violence related to the Iran war was released to Global News under the Access to Information Act.
“The primary violent threats to Canada associated with the conflict remain a single, lone actor or a small group not linked to Iran,” he said.
“However, it is possible that Iran allows criminal agents to attack in Europe against the goals of the Jewish community and that they have directed or allowed similar acts of criminal violence in Canada since the beginning of the conflict.”
A report by the Integrated Threat Assessment Center (ITAC), which analyzes threats to Canada’s national security, dated April 2.
This document, along with a second one on the same theme, was redacted in part and did not publicly identify which acts of violence in Canada it referred to.
But it said a new group called Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiyya claimed responsibility for attacks in Europe, including the burning of a London synagogue.
US prosecutors suspect that Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiya is a front for Kata’ib Hizballah, a pro-Iran Shia militia based in Iraq.
Get daily world news
Get daily Canadian news delivered to your inbox so you don’t miss the top stories of the day.
In May, the United States arrested a member of Kata’ib Hizballah named Mohammad Baqer Saad Dawood Al-Saadi for allegedly directing attacks in Europe.
According to the allegations, Al-Saadi claimed responsibility for two attacks in Toronto – shooting at a synagogue and the US consulate.
Toronto police have arrested several gunmen suspected of being part of a criminal group hired to open fire on the American embassy.
Toronto Sheriff, Const. Marc Pinizzotto, was shot and killed during the investigation, which examined more than a dozen shootings across the city.
The gunmen were hired through secret messages and had to record video of the incidents in order to get paid, police said.
“What we’re dealing with in this case and other unrelated incidents, including shootings at synagogues and Jewish schools, is a consistent and consistent operation – criminals for hire,” said Toronto Police Chief Myron Demkiw.
The police said they are investigating who committed the shooting incidents. The Secretary of State for Anti-Crime, Ruby Sahota, blamed an undisclosed “foreign organization”.
Canadian authorities have not publicly linked the case to Iran. But two intelligence reports released to Global News point to a possible role for Iranian intelligence.
“Since ITAC’s last review, allegations of threats and suspicious activity directed at targets linked to Israeli, Iranian and Jewish-connected communities and interests in Canada have continued, including by actors possibly directed by the Iranian Intelligence Service,” it said.
Iran has a long history of attacking opponents in the West, and is said to be planning to assassinate critics in Canada, including former Justice Minister Irwin Cotler.
On June 10, Canada joined its allies in condemning Iran’s “murderous plot” against Iranian dissidents and members of the Jewish community.
The joint statement blamed the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Intelligence Organization, the Quds Force, and the Ministry of Intelligence and Security.
“The relationship between Iran’s security forces and international and local criminal groups is long-standing,” the statement said.
It also condemned attacks across Europe that were claimed by Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiya “and supported by their proxies.”
Last week, Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand said Canada has no plans to restore diplomatic ties with Iran that Ottawa severed in 2012.
His comments followed Prime Minister Mark Carney’s comments that not having ambassadors to Iran and Venezuela puts Canada in a “critical situation.”
Stewart.Bell@globalnews.ca
© 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
