Canada recently thwarted an alleged Iranian assassination plot targeting Irwin Cotler, a former justice minister and prominent critic of Tehran, his organization confirmed on Monday.
Cotler, 84, served as Canada’s justice minister and attorney general from 2003 to 2006 and retired from politics in 2015. Since then, he has remained active in human rights advocacy globally.
According to The Globe and Mail, Cotler was notified on October 26 about an imminent threat to his life, with Iranian agents allegedly planning to assassinate him within 48 hours. Authorities reportedly tracked two suspects involved in the plot, the newspaper said, citing an unnamed source.
The Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights, where Cotler serves as international chair, confirmed the report but added that Cotler had no details on any arrests. “He has no knowledge or details regarding any arrests made,” said Brandon Golfman, a spokesperson for the center.
In response to the allegations, Iran’s government denied the claims, calling them “ridiculous” and part of a misinformation campaign against Tehran. The denial came from Issa Kameli, the Iranian foreign ministry’s director general for the Americas, who spoke to the official IRNA news agency.
Canada’s Public Safety Minister, Dominic LeBlanc, declined to comment, citing security concerns. However, other senior officials, including Minister of Innovation Francois-Philippe Champagne, expressed concern over the plot. Jean-Yves Duclos, a senior minister in Quebec where Cotler resides, said the news was likely “very difficult” for Cotler and his family to hear.
The Canadian House of Commons passed a unanimous motion praising Cotler’s work in defense of human rights and condemning the threats against him.
Cotler had already been receiving police protection for over a year following the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack in Israel. A longtime advocate for human rights, Cotler has been vocal about the need to designate Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organization. He has also been linked to an FBI investigation into a 2022 Iranian plot to murder U.S. human rights activist Masih Alinejad.
Canada severed diplomatic ties with Iran more than a decade ago and officially labeled the IRGC a terrorist group in June, citing Iran’s ongoing violations of human rights and its destabilizing actions globally.
Cotler’s daughter, Michal Cotler-Wunsh, is an Israeli politician and former member of Israel’s parliament.
