CSIS acting to prevent possible Iranian proxy attacks on U . S . targets in Canada , former spies say

theglobeandmail.com · Feb 26, 2026 · Collected from GDELT

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Open this photo in gallery:Anti-riot police stand in front of state building that is covered with an anti-U.S. billboard depicting the destruction of a U.S. aircraft carrier, in downtown Tehran, Feb. 21. The Pentagon has deployed a large contingent of military hardware to the region, including two aircraft carriers.Majid Saeedi/Getty ImagesCanada’s spy service will be alert to any Iranian attempts to direct its proxies in Canada to strike U.S. targets in this country if the United States attacks Iran, according to former top spies.Two former assistant directors of operations at the Canadian Security Intelligence Service told The Globe and Mail Wednesday that Canada and other Western countries’ intelligence services have been working in concert to prevent Iranian attacks in Europe and North America.The two men, Andrew Ellis and Alan Jones, who oversaw all CSIS strategic operations, said they expect the full spectrum of techniques would be employed, including signals intelligence, domestic communications intercepts, human sources, interviews in the Iranian community and biometrics at airports and elsewhere.CSIS declined to discuss what steps are being taken to monitor Iranian proxies amid the looming threat of U.S. strikes against Iran.The spy agency said in an e-mail that it had to protect its tradecraft, but it acknowledged that Iran poses a danger to Canada and its allies.“Iranian threat-related activities directed at Canada and its allies are likely to continue in 2026, and may increase depending on developments in the Middle East and the Iranian regime’s own threat perceptions,” CSIS spokesperson Eric Balsam said. The American military is preparing for a sustained, weeks-long operation against Iran that could include hitting Iranian military and security facilities as well as nuclear infrastructure.The Pentagon has deployed a large contingent of military hardware to the region, including squadrons of fighter jets and two aircraft carriers. Iran’s Revolutionary Guard has warned it could retaliate against U.S. military bases in the region if the U.S. strikes Iranian territory. There are also fears that Iran could direct its proxies in Canada, Europe, Asia and South America to attack U.S. targets, including civilians.Open this photo in gallery:Two F/A-18F Super Hornets prepare to launch from the flight deck of Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72) in the Arabian Sea, Feb. 15.DANIEL KIMMELMAN/AFP/Getty ImagesIn his State of the Union address Tuesday, President Donald Trump accused Tehran of “sinister nuclear ambitions,” saying it had “already developed missiles that can threaten Europe and our bases overseas,” and is working to develop missiles to hit the U.S. homeland.The Trump administration has not yet explained the rationale for its military build-up, and Mr. Trump also said in last night’s address that he prefers “to solve this problem through diplomacy.”Mr. Jones, now executive adviser in the University of Ottawa Professional Development Institute, said that, with “the amount of military power the Americans have massed in region - the next largest since the invasion of Iraq in 2003,” the Iranians are taking it seriously. And he added: “I have no doubt it is being taken very seriously in Canada.”Mr. Jones said CSIS and its partner spy agencies would have their “antennas up” to keep close tabs on Iranian proxies in their respective countries.“Iran would have people here who would support that type of attack and by that, I mean they would facilitate money or people coming and going,” he said. “Would they actually have people here who launch the attacks themselves? It’s possible.”Mr. Ellis, now with the Inkas Group, said Iran would likely attack soft U.S. targets in Canada, such as a McDonald’s or other symbolically American companies or facilities. While CSIS would have a good handle on Iranian proxies in Canada, Mr. Ellis said they could be in the dark about radicalized lone actors.“I am sure they have penetrated these organizations,” Mr. Ellis said. “The ones that make me more nervous is the lone wolf. You don’t know who they are. Those are the guys we can’t control.”U.S. pulling non-essential staff from embassy in Beirut as Iran tensions escalateAn even bigger “nightmare” scenario for CSIS is if an Iranian proxy or a member of an Iranian sleeper cell manages to get across the American border from Canada to commit an act of terrorism or violence in the U.S.“The only thing worse than a terrorist attack in Canada is a terrorist attack in the United States that came from Canada,” Mr. Jones said. “The Iranians know very well it would unsettle the American population and would cause Trump trouble.”Despite political friction between the Trump administration and Ottawa, Mr. Jones said U.S. and Canadian authorities would be working very closely to tighten border surveillance.Both former CSIS officials said they think Iran wants to avoid a war with the U.S. and would not likely retaliate if the Americans bomb Iranian bases. Canada pushing for regime change in Iran, announces more sanctions“If it is regime-changing then look out. If it is just symbolic like throwing a missile here and there, they won’t care. They won’t launch proxies for that,” Mr. Ellis said.A larger attack on Iran would likely mean that Tehran would seek to draw American troops into a ground war.“That would be a disaster for the Americans and cause a huge war. No matter what the [Iranian population] may think about the theocracy and the corruption there, they are still going to hate Americans more than those people,” Mr. Jones added.Iran has long been on the radar of CSIS, which said in a report last year that the agency “continues to investigate threats to life emanating from the Islamic Republic of Iran based on credible intelligence.”Former Liberal justice minister Irwin Cotler has been under RCMP protection since the Oct. 7, 2023, mass killings in Israel by Hamas gunmen. CSIS told him that he was a high-profile target of Iran, a long-time sponsor of the militant group.Mr. Cotler has been on Iran’s radar for his global campaign since 2008 to list the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist entity. He has also represented Iranian political prisoners as a lawyer and is a strong supporter of Israel. In June, 2024, under pressure from opposition parties, Canada joined the U.S. in declaring the IRGC a banned terrorist group. Ottawa severed diplomatic ties with Iran more than a decade ago.With a report from Reuters