Canadian spy agency probes death threats by Iran, UK deploys armoured vehicles outside news studio

Amid the ongoing protests in Iran following the death of Mahsa Amini, a woman who allegedly died after being detained by Tehran's morality police, reports suggest that the middle eastern nation has given death threats to citizens in Canada and the United Kingdom who have been vocal about the incident.

On Friday, Canada’s spy agency the, Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), in a statement said that they are investigating reports of people who have received “credible” death threats from Iran which are “designed to silence those who speak out publicly” against them. “CSIS is actively investigating several threats to life emanating from the Islamic Republic of Iran based on credible intelligence,” it said.

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The statement which was first reported by CBC said that the agency is also working closely with Iranian-Canadian communities which are allegedly being “disproportionately” targeted. Notably, Canada has imposed several sanctions against Tehran over alleged human rights abuses, including the death of Mahsa Amini.

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Meanwhile, in the UK, at least seven armed vehicles have been deployed outside Iran International television studios in west London after two of its UK-based journalists were threatened by Tehran.

Reportedly, they received “severe and credible” threats for their coverage of the ongoing protests on the UK-based Persian language media company. The channel has been dubbed as a “terrorist” organisation by the regime, said a report by AFP.

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While speaking to the news agency, the media outlet’s spokesperson also said that the threats against them have escalated due to their 24-hour coverage of the protests in Iran. He also said that the presence of the armoured vehicles was a “massive deterrence” which has reassured the employees.

This comes days after the British intelligence agency, MI5 director general Ken McCallum said that the growing threat from Iran “most frequently crosses into terrorism,” which has made at least 10 attempts to “kidnap or even kill British or UK-based individuals perceived as enemies of the regime,” since the beginning of this year alone, as reported by WION earlier.

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Furthermore, the spy chief had also indicated that the British police had warned the two journalists about “an imminent, credible and significant risk to their lives and those of their families.” Meanwhile, the British foreign secretary, James Cleverly had previously said that he had summoned Iranian charge d'affaires after the UK-based journalists “were subject to immediate threats to life from Iran.”

(With inputs from agencies)

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