Irwin Cotler says Iran assassination plot should be ‘wake-up call’ to world

Former federal justice minister Irwin Cotler says a threat against his life last month that was traced to Iran is part of a 'pattern' of repression by the Iranian regime.

Former Liberal justice minister Irwin Cotler says an alleged Iranian plot to assassinate him should serve as a “wake-up call” for democracies around the world to combat transnational repression and violence by Iran and other hostile actors.

In an interview with Global News, Cotler, a vocal critic of the Iranian regime, said he was informed by his RCMP security detail late last month they had received “information of an imminent assassination attempt within the next 48 hours” while he was in Montreal to attend an event marking the 60th anniversary of his law class at McGill University.

“My security was intensified for those next 48 hours,” he said. His security was then lowered from the “highest level” several days ago, he added, though it’s unclear to him what changed.

“I then read — I have not been told — I then read that two suspects may have been apprehended.”

The Globe and Mail first reported on the alleged plot against Cotler on Monday, and that a source said law enforcement was aware of two suspects but it was not clear if they were arrested or fled the country. The report said Cotler was advised last week that the threat against him had been “significantly lowered.”

Cotler has been under 24-hour RCMP protection since the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel by Hamas, which receives backing from Iran. He told Global News he was first informed of an “imminent and lethal threat on my life” upon arriving in Montreal from a trip to Washington, D.C., with his wife in November 2023, and his security detail began “immediately” afterward.

“The protection I’ve had has been exemplary,” he said.

“They accompany me wherever I go. Even if I go to the barber shop or if I go for my medical treatment under dialysis, they are with me all the time.”