The Iranian Canadian Congress (ICC) is devastated and gravely concerned regarding the ongoing spread and escalating severity of criminal threats and acts of violence by extremists against members of the Iranian Canadian community. Iranian Canadians who believe in non-violent, sustainable, and indigenous progress and oppose foreign meddling, war, coup d'état and installation of a foreign puppet monarchy in Iran, as well as those who are visibly Muslim and attending Islamic Centers, have been particularly targeted. We had warned about a coordinated campaign of harassment and violence against Iranian Canadians in a previous ICC statement. 

 Below are only a few examples of harassment and physical violence that have been reported to the Iranian Canadian Congress to date:  

 In British Columbia, an Iranian Canadian political activist who had sued Reza Pahlavi and received a wave of vile death threats from monarchist extremists has gone missing as of February 6th. RCMP officials have stated they believe criminality is involved in the disappearance.  

• In Alberta, a mob of monarchist extremists attacked an Iranian Islamic Centre on February 7th and brutally assaulted two Iranian Canadians in attendance. This incident resulted in the hospitalization of one of the victims and terrorized the entire congregation. Local police department had been alerted in advance of the threats against the specific Islamic Centre and event, yet they ignored the warnings and failed to protect their community. 

• In British Columbia, a senior Muslim woman who volunteers at the local Iranian Islamic Centre was targeted and physically assaulted in January 2026. 

• Many Iranian Canadians have received vile threats of violence including death threats from monarchist extremists since 2025. 

• Multiple Iranian Canadian-owned businesses in the provinces of British Columbia, Ontario, Alberta and Quebec have been threatened and coerced to display the monarchist flag in their stores since January 2026. 

 The ICC reiterates its concerns for the safety and security of the Iranian Canadian community and calls for the protection of their democratic rights to freedom of expression, religion, association and peaceful assembly. We urge the Canadian Department of Justice, RCMP, and local police departments to investigate the coordinated campaign of threats and acts of violence against our community members, take credible threats of violence seriously before they are manifested as acts of violence, and bring violent offenders to justice. 

We express our heartfelt sympathy to all Iranian Canadians during this trying time and look forward to brighter days ahead. 

The Iranian Canadian Congress 

The Iranian Canadian Congress condemns the escalating campaign of targeted harassment, doxing, and professional sabotage directed at Iranian Canadian faculty, researchers, professionals, business owners, and sometimes ordinary people irrespective of profession. Over the past weeks, Iranian individuals who do not publicly align with specific political movements, such as calling for the restoration of the Iranian monarchy, have been targeted for professional and personal ruin, often in repeated cycles. 
 
We have received multiple reports from individuals being doxed and harassed, regardless of their digital footprint. Professionals are being singled out for the mere act of wearing hijab, or for publishing articles and research that cite Iranian, or even Israeli sources that challenge the pro-war narrative. Iranian-owned shops and other businesses are being targeted and threatened with loss of business if they do not display the Iranian monarchist flag. 
 
This is a coordinated effort to create a climate of fear to ensure that Iranian voices, particularly those who advocate for peace or oppose war, are silenced through organized reputational threats and character assassination. 
 
As a grassroots organization, we are doing everything within our means to manage this surge and provide support to those targeted. We urge employers, university chairs, professional associations, and business associations to recognize these influxes of complaints for what they are: a targeted campaign to suppress dissent and intimidate professionals. 
 
To Our Institutional Partners: 
We remain a dedicated resource for the broader community. We invite HR departments, university leadership, and organizational heads to reach out to us directly if you require context or information regarding the safety and well-being of your Iranian staff or colleagues who may be facing these pressures. 

To Our Community:  
We are actively working on programming to address fears and concerns and provide resources to help manage the backlash. We will update members about such programming via our social media channels. Our mental health series on Instagram remains a timely source of tools in the form of expert psychological advice. We also encourage individuals to document any attacks against them and pursue law enforcement and legal channels if relevant. At this moment we also point to the following resources regarding the prevention and management of internet-based attacks:  

https://www.iccongress.ca/educational_tools_against_online_harassment_cyberbullying (past post containing links to multiple resources)  

https://www.equalitylabs.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/EQUALITY-LABS-ANTI-DOXING-GUIDE-FOR-ACTIVISTS-3.0.pdf 
(additional resource) 

Interview of Mona Ghassemi, President of Iranian Canadian Congress with CBC Power & Politics regarding recent protests in Iran

https://youtu.be/Il5AWzeBYaA?si=Ry8Kq4g64OxvHiip

Here is a joint letter from 70 Iranian Canadian and Civil Society Organizations to the Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of National Defense urging them to change course before it is too late.

Statement in Response to the latest U.S Aggression Against Iran

Iranian Canadian Congress condemns in the strongest terms the attacks last night by the United States on Iranian soil, which recklessly ran the risk of untold harm to Iran’s population with nuclear fallout by bombing civilian nuclear infrastructure sites.  

In a deeply concerning break from reality, U.S. President Donald Trump followed his announcement of the attacks—which came after over a week of unprovoked Israeli attacks which killed hundreds of civilians—that “now is the time for peace”. We ask ourselves how a president who has campaigned on the promise not to involve the United States in further wars, justifies Israel’s bombing while Iran was at the negotiating table with the U.S., follows with another egregious and unlawful attack, and expects Iran to complacently submit to this state of affairs.

We are deeply dismayed that Prime Minister Mark Carney, who campaigned on a platform of standing up to U.S. bullying, now kowtows to the position taken by the U.S. and Israel, that in contravention to the U.N. charter, launders a war of aggression initiated by Israel and backed by the United States. We are also horrified at opposition leader Pierre Poilievre’s statement calling Iran’s government a “genocidal regime” while Israel continues its relentless attacks on Gaza, Iran, and other neighbouring countries. Poilievre’s statement flies in the face of the findings of the International Court of Justice, recognized by broad swathes of the Canadian and International Community, that Israel is committing genocide.

We strongly urge Mark Carney’s government to show some backbone, listen to Canadian citizens’ calls to not involve our country in U.S. and Israeli aggression, and act in accordance with Canadian and International law to avert further escalation of war.

Tomorrow night CFPI will be co-hosting “Anti-war webinar: Canada Must Oppose Israel's Attacks on Iran!" Register for the event with author Craig Mokhiber, Iranian Canadian Congress president Mona Ghassemi and member Nassim Noroozi as well as author Yves Engler and lawyer Dimitri Lascaris.

"Hands off Iran" protests are planned in multiple cities across the country this weekend against Canadian support for Israel’s aggression. Join marches organized by the Iranian community, anti-war groups and unions.

Please take a minute to tell Carney to invest in Canadians’ well-being not the war machine.

Also use this link to tell your MP and Senate member to oppose the war against Iran. 

Join Iranian Canadian Congress to condemn the Israeli attacks on Iranian people, particularly the targeting of civilian residential areas, energy and other civilian infrastructure and facilities. These attacks have so far killed and wounded hundreds of innocent Iranians. 
 
Such actions are a clear violation of international law and the UN Charter. As a responsible and peaceful nation, Canada must not remain silent in the face of these clear violations of international law. Our government must stand for diplomacy, respect for international law, and the protection of civilian lives. 

The Iranian Canadian Congress calls on the Canadian Government to: 
 
- Publicly condemn these attacks; 
 
- Call for an immediate cessation of hostilities; 
 
- Engage diplomatically through G7 and other international and multilateral institutions to de-escalate the conflict and promote peace in the region. 

By clicking on this link and giving your address, you can easily send the prepared letter to your MP and Senate member. 

Canada Must Oppose Israeli Attacks on the People of Iran | Canada Must Oppose Israeli Attacks on the People of Iran

Iranian Canadian Congress is devastated to hear the news of Israel’s latest attack against Iran. Among the targets were residential buildings, and the victims included children. Our hearts go out to our compatriots in Iran. We are sure so many in the diaspora, like us, frantically reached out to family as soon as they heard the news, to assure their safety.

As an organization whose mandate includes “advocating  peace, dialogue, and collaboration between Canada and other nations”, ICC has consistently called attention to the ongoing genocide in Gaza, and called upon our Canadian government to broker a just and lasting peace in the region. We have always been keenly aware of the possibility that military actions would expand into Iran, and while it came close to that on several occasions, today we fear that the escalations have brought us to the tipping point.

With war looming, we are also concerned regarding the current state of Canada-Iran relations. In the context of recent travel bans imposed by U.S. President Trump that include Iran, the lack of Iranian consular services in Canada is a grave concern, as so many of us would do everything in our power to bring our relatives to safety, especially given that until recently Iranian-Canadians had to make use of the Iranian office in the Pakistani Embassy in the U.S. to meet their consular needs.

We therefore urge our Canadian politicians more urgently than ever, to expedite the re-establishment of consular services, to act as an arbitrator to ceasefire in West Asia, and to extend a helping hand to support those affected by war.

In the summer of 2024, Commissioner Marie-Josée Hogue and members of the Foreign Interference Commission’s Public Consultation Process team met with seven individuals belonging to the Iranian Canadian community in a meeting organized with the assistance of the Iranian Canadian Congress. This is a summary of the information shared at that meeting.

https://assets.nationbuilder.com/iraniancanadiancongress/pages/3505/attachments/original/1737138662/Iranian_Canadian_Congress_-_Meeting_Summary__EN_.pdf?1737138662