Continued Examination of Islamic Republic Affiliates' Cases; Majid Iranmanesh Asks Not to Be Deported from Canada

Canadian network Global News reported on the ongoing case of the deportation of Iranians allegedly affiliated with the Islamic Republic who have entered Canada. On Thursday, January 11, the case of Majid Iranmanesh, former IT director of the Presidential Office, was reviewed. According to the network, Mr. Iranmanesh accepted the charges against him in court regarding his deportation due to his affiliation with the Islamic Republic but requested the court to allow his voluntary departure from the country and refrain from issuing a deportation order. Currently living in Toronto, he believes that receiving a deportation order could complicate his travels to other countries. In his court statements, Majid Iranmanesh admitted to working for the Islamic Republic since 2017 and being the director of IT management at the Vice Presidency for Science and Technology until 2020. He arrived in Canada on May 29, 2023, but the Canada Border Services Agency referred his case to the Immigration and Refugee Board on November 29, 2023, stating that his cooperation as a senior manager of the Tehran regime is unacceptable for Canada. The session ended without a decision, but Iranmanesh, who presents himself as a researcher and university professor, stated that he would leave Canada by next week. The Canada Border Security Agency had previously announced that the cases of 10 senior officials of the Islamic Republic residing in Canada had been sent to the Immigration Commission for deportation. This is the second case raised under Canada's sanctions against the Islamic Republic. Global News had previously reported that Seyed Salman Samani, a senior official in the Interior Ministry during Rouhani's government, and Rouhollah Firooznameh, who had collaborated for years in installing security cameras with the Islamic Republic, are on the verge of being deported from Canada. Canada considers the Iranian government a regime involved in terrorism and systematic human rights violations, and after the killing of Mahsa Amini and widespread protests by Iranians, it enacted laws that effectively barred tens of thousands of Iranian officials and members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps from entering and residing in Canada.