Canadian authorities recently thwarted an alleged plot by Iranian agents to assassinate Irwin Cotler, a former justice minister and outspoken critic of the Iranian regime. The 84-year-old Cotler, who served as justice minister and attorney general from 2003 to 2006, retired from politics in 2015 but continues to be active in human rights advocacy globally through various organizations.
The Globe and Mail reported that Cotler was informed on October 26 about an imminent assassination attempt, with authorities tracking two suspects involved in the plot. This alarming news came just 48 hours before the threat was said to be carried out. The Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights, where Cotler serves as international chair, confirmed the report, although Cotler himself has not been made aware of any arrests related to the plot.
In response to the allegations, Iran’s official IRNA news agency denied the claims, describing the report as “ridiculous storytelling” and part of an ongoing misinformation campaign. Canadian officials, including Public Safety Minister Dominic LeBlanc, declined to comment on the specifics of the investigation, citing security reasons.
Other Canadian government officials expressed concern, with senior minister Jean-Yves Duclos acknowledging the difficulty this news must bring to Cotler and his family. The House of Commons later passed a unanimous motion condemning the death threats against Cotler and praising his long-standing work in defense of human rights.
Cotler, a Jewish lawyer, has long been a vocal advocate for Israel and has campaigned for the Iranian regime’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to be designated as a terrorist entity. His name had also come up in an FBI investigation into a 2022 Iranian plot involving an attempted murder-for-hire in New York targeting Iranian human rights activist Masih Alinejad.
The Canadian government severed diplomatic ties with Iran over a decade ago and officially listed the Iranian Revolutionary Guard as a banned terror group in June, citing Iran’s disregard for human rights and its destabilizing actions in global affairs.
