Latest news with #spyagency
Globe and Mail
09-08-2025
- Politics
- Globe and Mail
CSIS warns threats from Iran in Canada could increase this year, and it is using criminals to target critics
Canada's spy agency is warning that threats from Iran's theocratic regime could increase this year and Tehran will continue to use members of criminal gangs to target its critics in Canada. The Canadian Security Intelligence Service told The Globe this week it is investigating death threats in Canada orchestrated by the republic of Iran. And depending on developments in the Middle East, such threats could escalate here, CSIS cautioned. The spy agency issued its warning after it emerged that two Canadian journalists working for a London-based Persian news outlet have faced threats from Iran. One was told repeatedly they would be abducted, placed in a bag and smuggled out of the country if they did not stop reporting. Lawyers acting for the news outlet, Iran International, have asked experts at the United Nations to intervene with the regime urgently after death and abduction threats to its journalists and their families escalated in the past six weeks. Ottawa strengthens vetting after officials failed to pass on new human-rights chief's alias to RCMP, CSIS CSIS warns 'extremist actors' rhetoric around Israel-Hamas war could lead to violence The escalation coincided with the U.S. attack on Iranian nuclear sites and Israel's offensive, which killed dozens of Iranian senior security officials and nuclear scientists. In a statement, CSIS warned that the level of threat posed in Canada by people acting on the Iranian regime's behalf could be influenced by the situation in the Middle East. 'CSIS continues to investigate threats to life emanating from the Islamic Republic of Iran. Given the need to protect our sources, tradecraft, and methods however, we cannot confirm or deny specific investigative details,' said CSIS spokesperson Magali Hébert in a statement. 'CSIS assesses that Iran will continue to use proxies, such as individuals involved with transnational organized crime networks, when it targets perceived enemies living in foreign countries, including Canada.' 'Iranian threat-related activities directed at Canada and its allies are likely to continue in 2025, and may increase depending on developments in the Middle East and the Iranian regime's own threat perceptions,' it added. An alleged plot by agents of Iran to assassinate former justice minister Irwin Cotler was foiled, the RCMP told him last year. The lawyer and founder of the Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights, who has supported dissidents targeted by Tehran, remains on Iran's hit list and has 24-hour police protection. Lawyers acting for Iran International earlier this week asked five experts at the UN to intervene with the Iranian regime over threats to its journalists and their families, including two in Canada. It appealed to the UN experts to take action to protect the safety of journalists in seven countries: Canada, Britain, the U.S., Sweden, Germany, Turkey and Belgium. The appeal was lodged with five UN special rapporteurs, including Professor Ben Saul, UN special rapporteur on human rights and counterterrorism, and Irene Khan, UN special rapporteur on freedom of expression. Carlos Nagore Diaz, a spokesman for Ms. Khan, said in an e-mail that 'several UN Special Rapporteurs are considering taking urgent action on the renewed credible threats to life,' but any communications with the Iranian regime are currently confidential. 'The Special Rapporteur has consistently raised concerns about threats to reporters working for Iran international and will continue to do so,' he said. Last year, a group of UN rapporteurs, including Ms. Khan and Mr. Saul, wrote to leaders of Iran's regime expressing concerns about threats to journalists working for Persian language outlets abroad including Iran International. Founded in 2017, it has become the most-watched Persian language TV channel in and outside Iran on satellite and online platforms. Headquartered in London, with bureaus in 14 countries, its reporting is often critical of Tehran's theocratic regime. The rapporteurs' May 2024 letter alleged that the Islamic Republic of Iran was directly, and through proxies, menacing journalists working for Iran International as well as their family members in Iran. 'We note that acts and threats of violence, and other measures of intimidation and harassment by the Iranian authorities or its proxies against persons in the United Kingdom and other states, may amount to violations of the sovereignty of those states,' the letter said. It detailed how in March last year Iran International journalist Pouria Zeraati was stabbed in the legs by two assailants outside his home in Wimbledon, London. Two Romanian nationals were subsequently charged with the attack. In its reply to the UN experts' letter, Iran's permanent representation to the UN, rejected 'allegations made about the threats or kidnapping plans' against journalists working for news outlets such as Iran International, whom it referred to as 'agents.' 'To the Islamic Republic of Iran, this anti-Iranian Network and its operatives are terrorists, they will be dealt with according to the relevant laws and will be tried in a fair court, as the case against some agents of this network is being processed,' the letter said. Adam Baillie, spokesman for Iran International, said 'the idea of there being such a thing as a fair trial in Iran under the current regime is an absurdity.' 'The allegations about us being terrorists are ridiculous. We are journalists doing our job and we should be doing it from within Iran itself,' he said. 'Furthermore you should not underestimate the level of threat, both in scale and nature, to journalists working for our channel, including in Canada.' Last week, Canada joined a group of countries including Britain, the U.S., France, Germany, the Netherlands and Denmark, to publicly condemn a growing number of threats from Iranian intelligence services on their soil. The joint statement, issued by the British foreign office, said Iranian intelligence operatives were increasingly collaborating with international criminal organizations to target journalists, dissidents and others.
Bloomberg
28-06-2025
- Politics
- Bloomberg
Trump Eyes Cuts to Top Spy Agency as He Downplays Iran Intel
President Donald Trump is pressing ahead with plans to slash staff at the top US spy agency, determined to act at a time when he's openly challenged its director and rejected intelligence findings that contradict his public statements. Trump has openly discussed dismantling the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, including when he nominated Tulsi Gabbard to lead it, according to people familiar with the situation, who asked not to be identified discussing private matters. He's floated the idea again more recently, they said.
Bloomberg
27-06-2025
- Politics
- Bloomberg
Trump Eyes Cuts to Top Spy Agency as He Sweeps Aside Iran Intel
President Donald Trump is pressing ahead with plans to slash staff at the top US spy agency, determined to act at a time when he's openly challenged its director and rejected intelligence findings that contradict his public statements. Trump has openly discussed dismantling the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, including when he nominated Tulsi Gabbard to lead it, according to people familiar with the situation, who asked not to be identified discussing private matters. He's floated the idea again more recently, they said.
CNA
19-06-2025
- Politics
- CNA
US will strike North Korea if South attacked with nukes, South's spy chief nominee says
SEOUL: South Korea's nominee for spy agency director said on Thursday (Jul 19) he believed the United States would strike North Korea with nuclear weapons if Pyongyang launched a nuclear attack against South Korea. Lee Jong-seok made the comment during a nomination hearing in answer to a question if he believed Washington would strike the North and put Americans at risk from a country even if Pyongyang has deployed intercontinental ballistic missiles. "Yes, that is my belief," Lee said, after saying the hypothetical scenario of South Korea coming under the North's nuclear attack is directly related to the security alliance between the two countries. North Korea has for years pursued a nuclear programme and is believed to have stockpiled fissile materials to build atomic weapons although it has not tested a missile mounted with such a weapon.
CTV News
15-06-2025
- Politics
- CTV News
Britain's MI6 spy agency gets its first female chief
OTTAWA, Ontario — Britain's real-life spies have finally caught up with James Bond. MI6 has appointed its first female chief. Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced Sunday that Blaise Metreweli will be the next head of the U.K.'s foreign intelligence agency, and the first woman to hold the post since its founding in 1909. She is currently the MI6 director of technology and innovation — the real-world equivalent of Bond gadget-master Q. A career intelligence officer, Metreweli, 47, steps from the shadows into the light as the only MI6 employee whose name is made public. She said 'I am proud and honored to be asked to lead my Service.' Starmer said the 'historic appointment' comes at a time 'when the work of our intelligence services has never been more vital. 'The United Kingdom is facing threats on an unprecedented scale – be it aggressors who send their spy ships to our waters or hackers whose sophisticated cyber plots seek to disrupt our public services,' he said. Starmer made the announcement as he arrived in the Canadian province of Alberta for a Group of Seven leaders' summit. Metreweli takes over at MI6 as the agency faces growing challenges from states including China and Russia, whose use of cyber tools, espionage, and influence operations threatens global stability and British interests, even as it remains on alert against terrorist threats. Metreweli is the first woman to get the top job, known as C – rather than M, the fictional MI6 chief of the 007 thrillers. M was played onscreen by Judi Dench in seven Bond movies starting in the 1990s. She will take up her post in the fall, replacing Richard Moore, who has held the job for five years. Britain's two other main intelligence agencies have already shattered the spy world's glass ceiling. MI5, the domestic security service, was led by Stella Rimington from 1992 to 1996 and Eliza Manningham-Buller between 2002 and 2007. Anne Keast-Butler became head of electronic and cyber-intelligence agency GCHQ in 2023. Moore, an Oxford-educated former diplomat, fit the 007 mold like a Savile Row suit. But in recent years MI6 has worked to increase diversity, broadening its recruitment process from the traditional 'tap on the shoulder' at an elite university. The agency's website stresses its family-friendly flexible working policy and goal of recruiting 'talented people from all backgrounds.' Moore suggested he would like his successor to be a woman. He wrote on X in 2023 that he would 'help forge women's equality by working to ensure I'm the last C selected from an all-male shortlist.' Like many things about MI6, also known as the Secret Intelligence Service, the process of choosing a new chief took place out of public view. It began with the country's top civil servant writing to government departments in March asking them to put forward candidates. The job was open to applicants from other intelligence agencies, the civil service, the diplomatic service, the armed forces or the police. In the end, MI6 opted for an internal candidate with a 25-year career in espionage, a degree in anthropology from Cambridge University — where she was on the women's rowing team — and expertise in cutting-edge technology. 'At a time of global instability and emerging security threats, where technology is power and our adversaries are working ever closer together, Blaise will ensure the U.K. can tackle these challenges head on to keep Britain safe and secure at home and abroad,' said Foreign Secretary David Lammy, who oversees MI6. Jill Lawless, The Associated Press
