Alireza Nader/FDD: Regime in Iran Exploits Canada’s Policy of Engagement Without Pressure/Talia Katz/FDD: Iran Seeks to Block Investigation of January’s Ukrainian Airliner Crash/النظام الإيراني يستغل مواقف كندا غير الحازمة تجاهه دون صعاب/النظام الإيراني يستغل مواقف كندا غير الحازمة تجاهه دون صعاب
Iran Seeks to Block Investigation of January’s Ukrainian Airliner Crash Talia Katz/FDD/April 21/2020 النظام الإيراني يعيق التحقيق في عملية اسقاطة الطائرة الأوكرانية
Regime in Iran Exploits Canada’s Policy of Engagement Without Pressure Alireza Nader/FDD/April 21/2020 النظام الإيراني يستغل مواقف كندا غير الحازمة تجاهه دون صعاب Canada has little to show for its government’s conciliatory approach to the Islamic Republic of Iran following the death of 57 Canadian-Iranians on January 8, when the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) shot down Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752. Ottawa has engaged in lengthy negotiations without putting serious pressure on Tehran, so the clerical regime has predictably refused to allow an independent and credible investigation of the Flight 752 atrocity. To change this dynamic, the Canadian government ought to impose sanctions on the responsible parties and launch a comprehensive inquiry into the Islamic Republic’s illicit activities within Canada itself. Three months after the downing of Flight 752, the plane’s flight recorder, or black box, remains in Tehran, its contents unexamined. The Trudeau government appears to have calculated that diplomatic appeasement would lead to better behavior by the regime, including the transfer of the black box to a neutral third party for evaluation. Trudeau and his foreign minister have met repeatedly with Foreign Minister Muhammad Javad Zarif in order to “get answers,” as the prime minister promised Canadians. Rather than oblige Trudeau, Tehran publicized the prime minister’s timid and deferential approach by releasing video footage of a February meeting in which Trudeau warmly grasped the hands of a smiling Zarif. For good reason, this led to widespread derision of Trudeau by Canadian journalists and Canadian-Iranian human rights activists. The Islamic Republic’s contempt for Canada’s efforts to hold it accountable is visible most clearly in the regime’s efforts to intimidate the family of an Iranian student at the University of Alberta who died in the crash. His parents, brother, and aunt sought refuge in Edmonton after the IRGC threatened them for speaking publicly about the crash. Ottawa should respond to this stonewalling and intimidation by designating the entire IRGC as a terrorist organization. In addition, Ottawa should launch a full investigation of the clerical regime’s lobbying and money laundering network in Canada, which is one of its largest and most effective in the Western world. Canada is home to one of the largest Iranian diaspora communities, numbering at least 200,000. Motivated by commercial interests, Ottawa has at times been eager to maintain good relations with Tehran. Canada’s Liberal Party has historically pursued a policy of positive inducements toward the regime, including the re-establishment of formal bilateral relations and increased investment in Iran. However, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has consistently pocketed rewards from Ottawa, only to pursue an even more aggressive policy toward Canada. Ottawa’s soft policy has also left an opening for the Islamic Republic to conduct influence operations from within the Canadian-Iranian community. Canadian-Iranians, many of whom fled the Islamic Republic to escape persecution, are one of the most successful Iranian diaspora communities. However, the regime has exploited Canada’s freedoms to establish its own lobbying and influence network there. Several human rights activists told the author that many wealthy Iranians with ties to the regime have settled in Canada in recent years, especially in Toronto and Vancouver. According to one activist, former regime officials, including those from Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence, live openly in Canada with their families and even travel regularly between the two countries. Furthermore, a number of “grassroots” and religious non-governmental organizations and even politicians are suspected of actively lobbying for the Islamic Republic by pushing for greater diplomatic and business ties between Ottawa and Tehran. The extent of the sympathy for the regime was on display in January when many Canadian-Iranians demonstrated in support of Qassem Soleimani, the commander of Iran’s Qods Force, the IRGC’s external operations branch, after his death in a U.S. air strike. Canada is also reportedly a base for the regime’s money-laundering. Iran’s inability to access the global banking system has forced the regime to rely more heavily on the hawala informal banking mechanism to move money around the Western world. The profusion of informal Iranian currency exchanges in cities such as Toronto may also be a worrying indicator, although the extent of the regime’s illicit financial activities remains unclear given Ottawa’s habit of looking the other way. Some Canadian officials may be tempted to view the large inflow of funds from Iran as beneficial for the Canadian economy. The Islamic Republic’s actions over the past few months, from the massacre of 1,500 peaceful Iranian protesters in November to the downing of Flight 572, demonstrate that only a policy of pressure can protect Canadian interests in the face of this malign regime. Moreover, it will have to be sustained pressure. One or two gestures will not persuade the regime that Canada has gotten tough. The regime is also likely to test Canada’s resolve with new provocations to see if Ottawa returns to its old ways at the first sign of danger. Yet in the midst of a deep, multi-year recession and domestic unrest – both brought on by American sanctions – the Islamic Republic has to pick its fights carefully. Ottawa’s first step in this new direction should be the designation of the entire IRGC as a terrorist organization. So far, Canada has designated only the IRGC’s Qods Force as a terrorist organization, despite a parliamentary motion recommending that the entire IRGC be designated as such. The U.S. designation of the entire IRGC has improved Washington’s ability to punish those who provide material support to the Guard, making banks, businesses, and other financial institutions even more careful in their transactions with the Islamic Republic. Similarly, Ottawa’s designation of the entire IRGC would prohibit Canadian companies from engaging with entities affiliated with the Guard, which controls most of the Iranian economy. The terrorist designation would also pave the way for enhanced investigation of the Guard’s assets and networks in Canada under the Anti-terrorism Act. Designating the entire IRGC will send an unmistakable message that Canada’s government will no longer placate the Islamic Republic as it increasingly targets Canadian security in Canada and abroad. *Alireza Nader is a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), where he also contributes to FDD’s Center on Military and Political Power (CMPP). For more analysis from Alireza and CMPP, please subscribe HERE. Follow Alireza on Twitter @AlirezaNader. Follow FDD on Twitter @FDD and @FDD_CMPP. FDD is a Washington, DC-based, nonpartisan research institute focusing on national security and foreign policy.
Iran Seeks to Block Investigation of January’s Ukrainian Airliner Crash Talia Katz/FDD/April 21/2020 النظام الإيراني يعيق التحقيق في عملية اسقاطة الطائرة الأوكرانية Radio Farda reported on Tuesday that Tehran sent Ukraine a draft memorandum of understanding (MOU) that, if signed, would protect the Iranian government from judicial action for the downing of a Ukrainian jetliner in January. The move indicates that Tehran continues its effort to deflect responsibility for the deaths of the 176 passengers onboard. According to the MOU, in exchange for Iran compensating victims and releasing the black box – the flight data recorder and voice recorder in the cockpit of the plane – Kiev would recognize that mere “human error” led to the airliner’s downing. The MOU would thereby absolve the Iranian government of any wrongdoing. This MOU is just the latest in a series of attempts to prevent families of the victims and the international community from seeking justice. After the crash, Iran’s deflection campaign began with Iran’s chief justice, Ebrahim Raisi, who led a pseudo-investigation into the incident. As Canada’s former Justice Minister Irwin Cotler said in January 2020, Raisi’s past role in the Iranian regime’s mass executions of 1988 should have disqualified him from leading this internal investigation. This so-called investigation resulted in no arrests and ignored recordings demonstrating the regime’s and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ negligence. Following this sham investigation, Tehran spread conspiracy theories to deflect blame for its offense. On April 5, Hassan Norouzi, a member of the Iranian parliament’s Legal and Judicial Commission, announced, “The Iranian military did well by downing the passenger plane,” because the plane “was in Israel the week before the incident and appeared to have been tampered with and manipulated there.” He also alleged that the Ukrainian airliner “was no longer under the control of the tower and appeared to have come under America’s control.” Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine Vadum Prystaiko criticized these narratives, tweeting, “We expect an immediate explanation from Iran on this statement. It shows full disrespect for human lives.” Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif tweeted that discussions of Tehran’s role is just “politicization of this tragedy.” To shore up its propaganda campaign, the regime has also harassed, tortured, and sexually assaulted the victims’ family members to dissuade them from seeking legal action against the regime. A report from Zeytoun, a foreign-based Persian website, revealed that the regime pressured victims’ families to appear on state television and reiterate their support for Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iran has also targeted victims’ family members by sending threatening messages from fake Facebook accounts. Iranian government officials have called some of these family members, berating them for criticizing the regime online. Coupled with these public relations tactics is an ongoing effort by the regime to preclude an independent investigation into the incident by withholding the airliner’s black box. On March 29, Mohammad Eslami, the Iranian minister of roads and transport, claimed that the regime has ceased decoding the black box due to the outbreak of COVID-19. However, Farhad Paravaresh, the Islamic Republic’s representative to the International Civil Aviation Organization, had promised to give the black box to Ukraine days before, by March 25. Today, more than 100 days after the crash, the black box recordings remain exclusively with the Islamic Republic. Ukraine should reject Iran’s MOU so that the international community may properly investigate the incident and hold Tehran accountable. *Talia Katz is a government relations analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), where she also contributes to FDD’s Center on Military and Political Power (CMPP). For more analysis from Talia and CMPP, please subscribe HERE. Follow Talia on Twitter @TaliaGKatz. Follow FDD on Twitter @FDD and @FDD_CMPP. FDD is a Washington, DC-based, nonpartisan research institute focusing on national security and foreign policy.
Regime in Iran Exploits Canada’s Policy of Engagement Without Pressure Alireza Nader/FDD/April 21/2020 النظام الإيراني يستغل مواقف كندا غير الحازمة تجاهه دون صعاب Canada has little to show for its government’s conciliatory approach to the Islamic Republic of Iran following the death of 57 Canadian-Iranians on January 8, when the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) shot down Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752. Ottawa has engaged in lengthy negotiations without putting serious pressure on Tehran, so the clerical regime has predictably refused to allow an independent and credible investigation of the Flight 752 atrocity. To change this dynamic, the Canadian government ought to impose sanctions on the responsible parties and launch a comprehensive inquiry into the Islamic Republic’s illicit activities within Canada itself. Three months after the downing of Flight 752, the plane’s flight recorder, or black box, remains in Tehran, its contents unexamined. The Trudeau government appears to have calculated that diplomatic appeasement would lead to better behavior by the regime, including the transfer of the black box to a neutral third party for evaluation. Trudeau and his foreign minister have met repeatedly with Foreign Minister Muhammad Javad Zarif in order to “get answers,” as the prime minister promised Canadians. Rather than oblige Trudeau, Tehran publicized the prime minister’s timid and deferential approach by releasing video footage of a February meeting in which Trudeau warmly grasped the hands of a smiling Zarif. For good reason, this led to widespread derision of Trudeau by Canadian journalists and Canadian-Iranian human rights activists. The Islamic Republic’s contempt for Canada’s efforts to hold it accountable is visible most clearly in the regime’s efforts to intimidate the family of an Iranian student at the University of Alberta who died in the crash. His parents, brother, and aunt sought refuge in Edmonton after the IRGC threatened them for speaking publicly about the crash. Ottawa should respond to this stonewalling and intimidation by designating the entire IRGC as a terrorist organization. In addition, Ottawa should launch a full investigation of the clerical regime’s lobbying and money laundering network in Canada, which is one of its largest and most effective in the Western world. Canada is home to one of the largest Iranian diaspora communities, numbering at least 200,000. Motivated by commercial interests, Ottawa has at times been eager to maintain good relations with Tehran. Canada’s Liberal Party has historically pursued a policy of positive inducements toward the regime, including the re-establishment of formal bilateral relations and increased investment in Iran. However, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has consistently pocketed rewards from Ottawa, only to pursue an even more aggressive policy toward Canada. Ottawa’s soft policy has also left an opening for the Islamic Republic to conduct influence operations from within the Canadian-Iranian community. Canadian-Iranians, many of whom fled the Islamic Republic to escape persecution, are one of the most successful Iranian diaspora communities. However, the regime has exploited Canada’s freedoms to establish its own lobbying and influence network there. Several human rights activists told the author that many wealthy Iranians with ties to the regime have settled in Canada in recent years, especially in Toronto and Vancouver. According to one activist, former regime officials, including those from Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence, live openly in Canada with their families and even travel regularly between the two countries. Furthermore, a number of “grassroots” and religious non-governmental organizations and even politicians are suspected of actively lobbying for the Islamic Republic by pushing for greater diplomatic and business ties between Ottawa and Tehran. The extent of the sympathy for the regime was on display in January when many Canadian-Iranians demonstrated in support of Qassem Soleimani, the commander of Iran’s Qods Force, the IRGC’s external operations branch, after his death in a U.S. air strike. Canada is also reportedly a base for the regime’s money-laundering. Iran’s inability to access the global banking system has forced the regime to rely more heavily on the hawala informal banking mechanism to move money around the Western world. The profusion of informal Iranian currency exchanges in cities such as Toronto may also be a worrying indicator, although the extent of the regime’s illicit financial activities remains unclear given Ottawa’s habit of looking the other way. Some Canadian officials may be tempted to view the large inflow of funds from Iran as beneficial for the Canadian economy. The Islamic Republic’s actions over the past few months, from the massacre of 1,500 peaceful Iranian protesters in November to the downing of Flight 572, demonstrate that only a policy of pressure can protect Canadian interests in the face of this malign regime. Moreover, it will have to be sustained pressure. One or two gestures will not persuade the regime that Canada has gotten tough. The regime is also likely to test Canada’s resolve with new provocations to see if Ottawa returns to its old ways at the first sign of danger. Yet in the midst of a deep, multi-year recession and domestic unrest – both brought on by American sanctions – the Islamic Republic has to pick its fights carefully. Ottawa’s first step in this new direction should be the designation of the entire IRGC as a terrorist organization. So far, Canada has designated only the IRGC’s Qods Force as a terrorist organization, despite a parliamentary motion recommending that the entire IRGC be designated as such. The U.S. designation of the entire IRGC has improved Washington’s ability to punish those who provide material support to the Guard, making banks, businesses, and other financial institutions even more careful in their transactions with the Islamic Republic. Similarly, Ottawa’s designation of the entire IRGC would prohibit Canadian companies from engaging with entities affiliated with the Guard, which controls most of the Iranian economy. The terrorist designation would also pave the way for enhanced investigation of the Guard’s assets and networks in Canada under the Anti-terrorism Act. Designating the entire IRGC will send an unmistakable message that Canada’s government will no longer placate the Islamic Republic as it increasingly targets Canadian security in Canada and abroad. *Alireza Nader is a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), where he also contributes to FDD’s Center on Military and Political Power (CMPP). For more analysis from Alireza and CMPP, please subscribe HERE. Follow Alireza on Twitter @AlirezaNader. Follow FDD on Twitter @FDD and @FDD_CMPP. FDD is a Washington, DC-based, nonpartisan research institute focusing on national security and foreign policy.
