The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) is seeking to deport Abbas Omidi, a former Iranian official currently residing in Toronto, alleging his senior role in Iran’s Ministry of Industry, Mines, and Trade directly supported state-sponsored terrorism. According to CBSA documents released to the Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB) and obtained by Global News, Omidi served as a deputy director in a mining sector deeply tied to Iran’s military and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). The agency claims Omidi’s specific expertise was “critical” in generating revenue from the mining industry—which accounts for roughly 40 percent of Iran’s GDP—that Tehran subsequently used to fund human rights abuses and international proxy groups like Hezbollah and Hamas.
Omidi is one of 37 suspected high-ranking Iranian regime members identified in Canada following Ottawa’s 2022 crackdown on officials linked to Tehran’s human rights abuses. Having entered Canada on a visitor visa in 2022, Omidi faced deportation proceedings starting in March 2024, during which he unsuccessfully attempted to bar media access. The IRB concluded its hearing this week, with a final ruling on Omidi’s expulsion expected in the fall.
