Following reports about an “Iranian agents’ plot” to assassinate Irwin Cotler, former Canadian Attorney General and a vocal critic of the Iranian regime, Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs denied these claims.
On the evening of Monday, November 18, the Director-General for the Americas at Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs dismissed the reports as “fabrications,” without directly mentioning Cotler’s name.
Earlier, the Canadian newspaper The Globe and Mail reported that on October 26, Canadian officials warned Irwin Cotler that he faced a threat of assassination by Iranian agents within the next 48 hours.
According to the newspaper, Canadian authorities have been tracking two individuals linked to the assassination plot.
Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported that the Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights, where Cotler serves as a director, confirmed the Canadian newspaper’s account. It stated that Cotler has no information regarding the arrest of individuals connected to this case.
Cotler, now 84 years old, served as Canada’s Minister of Justice and Attorney General from 2003 to 2006.
He stepped away from politics in 2015 and has since been actively involved in human rights advocacy.
According to Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs website, the Director-General for the Americas described the accusation as part of a disinformation campaign against Iran.
He also claimed that the aim of such accusations is to divert public attention from events in Gaza.
Irwin Cotler has called for the global designation of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organization.
The Globe and Mail reported that Cotler has been under police security protection in Canada since last year, following the outbreak of the current Gaza conflict.
