Canada moves to deport suspected Iranian official - Global News
Canadian authorities have launched deportation proceedings against an Iranian woman they say was a senior member of the Iranian government, Global News reported on Thursday.
According to the report, the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) requested a deportation hearing for Elham Zandi on January 7 under regulations targeting high-ranking officials from Iran, citing the country's Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB).
No date has yet been set for the proceedings and Zandi's alleged role within the Iranian government have not been disclosed, the report said.
The CBSA told Global News it could not discuss the matter due to privacy reasons, while Zandi’s lawyer declined to comment.
Citing government records, the Canadian news outlet reported that Zandi first arrived in Canada as a tourist before applying for a work permit.
When immigration officials investigated her background, the report says she sued the government over delays, seeking $10,000 in damages.
Her case also reportedly caught the attention of Liberal MP Patrick Weiler’s office, which reached out to Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada at least five times on her behalf.
In July last year, Canadian immigration authorities initiated deportation proceedings against five suspected senior Iranian government officials residing in Canada.
CBSA alleged that these individuals held senior positions in Iran’s government and has requested the Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB) to conduct hearings on these cases.
Prior to that in March 2014, Canada’s Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB) ordered the deportation of Salman Samani, Iran's deputy minister of interior during Hassan Rouhani's term as president.
The tribunal’s verdict was issued in accordance with sanctions imposed on Iranian officials following the 2022 nationwide protests in Iran, sparked by the killing of Mahsa Jina Amini in the custody of the so-called morality police.
Salmani was the second high-ranking Iranian official who had been ordered to leave Canada. In February, Majid Iranmanesh, a director general at Iran's Vice-Presidency for Science and Technology, was also forced to leave.
Canada first barred members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards' (IRGC) leadership in October 2022.
“The designation of a regime is a permanent decision. This means that more than 10,000 members of the IRGC leadership, for example, will be inadmissible to Canada forever,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said at the time.
In June 2024, after pressure from members of the diaspora, Ottawa moved to officially designated the IRGC as a terrorist organization, effectively barring thousands of senior Iranian officials, including top IRGC members, from entering Canada.
