CBC traces $12M in Toronto shootings to Iranian funding

A CBC News investigation has identified a dozen gun-for-hire shootings in the Greater Toronto Area that appear to have been financed by the Iranian government. The attacks targeted synagogues, a school, local businesses, and the U.S. Consulate in downtown Toronto. Most incidents occurred in the hours and days following the United States and Israel’s military operations against Iran on Feb. 28, which included the assassination of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

No one was injured in the Toronto attacks. The incidents followed a consistent pattern of early morning strikes where suspects arrived in stolen vehicles and fired handguns into building entrances while recording the acts on mobile phones. Toronto Police, the RCMP, and the Canadian Security Intelligence Service are investigating whether a foreign power instigated the violence. While several trigger men have been arrested and charged, determining the source of the funding has proven more difficult due to the encrypted communication channels used by the network.

Chief Superintendent Joe Matthews, who oversees the Toronto Police Service investigation, stated that police are examining every angle of the case. "We have heard information that there may be foreign actors that are involved," Matthews said. He noted that there does not appear to be a direct connection between the financier and the perpetrator on the street, a separation created by the use of encrypted apps and intermediaries in the gun-for-hire model.

CBC News reviewed court files and built profiles of the accused suspects, most of whom face charges for multiple attacks. The suspects are primarily young, with ages ranging from 15 to their early 20s. The investigation revealed a geographic concentration of shootings in the same corners of the city over the same nights. In several instances, synagogues and Jewish-owned businesses were targeted shortly before or after attacks on residential and business addresses linked to waste management firm Green For Life (GFL).

Ballistic tests confirmed that the same firearms were used in both the geopolitical and GFL-linked attacks, indicating that the same hired guns carried out both types of incidents. This pattern aligns with a global trend of Iranian-linked violence. In May, the FBI arrested Mohammad Baqer al-Saadi, a senior member of the Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiya militia, on six terrorism-related charges. The indictment alleges he helped coordinate at least 18 attacks in Europe and two in Canada, including the March 2026 shooting at the U.S. Consulate and an assault on an unnamed synagogue.

In June, Canada joined 20 other nations in condemning Iran’s lethal plotting in Europe, North America, and Australia. The joint statement described the relationship between Iranian security services and local criminal groups as long-standing and deplorable. Keir Giles, a security analyst at Chatham House in London, said the Iranian attacks follow a blueprint similar to those used by Russia in Europe since its invasion of Ukraine. Giles noted that while Russia pushed the boundaries of this approach further and faster, other actors have since adopted the method. The rise of encrypted communication has made it easier and cheaper to recruit willing or unknowing dupes for these operations.

Beth Avraham Yoseph of Toronto, one of the synagogues attacked in early March 2026, had its front doors and windows peppered with gunfire late on a Friday night. Rabbi Daniel Korobkin said the congregation feels anger and frustration but refuses to be intimidated. "We recognize that there are many players that are making Israel and Jews as the pariah of the story. We're used to it," Korobkin said. He added that the attack was not a deterrent to their faith or their presence in the synagogue.

Korobkin acknowledged that the attack may have been ordered by someone living thousands of miles away, but stated that the end result remains the same regardless of who pulls the trigger or pays for it. CBC News contacted the Iranian Foreign Ministry regarding the alleged involvement in the Toronto attacks but did not receive a response. The Iranian government has previously dismissed claims that it sponsors violence around the world.