Iran denies allegations of assassination plot against Canadian ex-minister as "ridiculous"

A senior Iranian diplomat has vehemently rejected the allegations of Tehran’s involvement in a plot to assassinate former Canadian justice minister Irwin Cotler.

Issa Kameli, an assistant to Iran's foreign minister and the director-general of the Department of America at the Iranian Foreign Ministry, dismissed the accusations as a “ridiculous propaganda stunt,” emphasizing they are in line with the campaign aimed at spreading misleading and false information about his country, Caliber.Az reports via an Iranian UK-based media outlet.

He strongly denounced the anti-Iran claims, stating that such spurious and unfounded allegations come from a county which has turned into a safe haven for fugitive terrorists and wanted fraudsters.

The Iranian official noted that the baseless accusations against the Islamic Republic cannot divert the world public opinion from the ongoing Israeli crimes, including the massacre of Palestinians in Gaza, and the complicity of Canada as one of the main sponsors of the occupying Tel Aviv regime.

Let’s recall that on November 17, the Canadian newspaper The Globe and Mail reported that Iran allegedly plotted to assassinate Irwin Cotler, a noted Canadian human-rights advocate and harsh critic of the clerical regime, but the attempt on his life was recently foiled by law enforcement authorities.

On October 26, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) warned Cotler of the imminent threat of assassination within 48 hours from Iranian agents.

Cotler has been under 24/7 RCMP protection for more than a year after the October 7, 2023 mass killings in Israel by Hamas gunmen. The Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) told him that he was a high-profile target of Iran, a long-time sponsor of the militant group.

Cotler criticized many authoritarian governments, including Iran for its conduct in the 2020 downing of Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752, which left about 55 Canadians and 30 permanent residents dead, as well as Tehran’s funding of Hamas. The group, designated a terrorist entity by Canada, carried out the October 7 attacks against Israel that left about 1,200 people dead, and hundreds taken hostage.

By Khagan Isayev