Iran uses crime syndicates to target diaspora in Canada, complicating CSIS investigations

Iran is contracting Canadian organized crime networks to surveil, harass, and threaten Iranian dissidents and diaspora members on Canadian soil, according to CSIS. The outsourcing model insulates the Iranian state from direct attribution while requiring CSIS to coordinate with police, the RCMP, and financial regulators in ways that exceed traditional counter-espionage work. The practice trades operational reach for investigative complexity.