Deportation hearing begins on allegations of Iranian state official – National
A deportation hearing began in Toronto on Monday for an alleged senior member of Iran’s repressive regime who had been living in Canada.
Abbas Omidi served in a senior government position in Iran before coming to Canada in 2022, according to allegations made during the trial.
The Canada Border Services Agency said he spent 27 years serving the Iranian community, and was a deputy at the Department of Industries, Mines and Trade.
As a “high-ranking official” in the Iranian government, the 55-year-old is not allowed to stay in Canada, the immigration watchdog said.
A two-day hearing before the Immigration and Refugee Board will determine whether Omidi will receive a deportation order.
Omidi is one of 32 suspected former and current high-ranking Iranian government officials identified during the crackdown on immigration.
The CBSA says they are not allowed to stay in the country because of the 2022 policy that bars them because of abuse by their government.
Monday’s hearing began with questions about his employment history.
The forms he sent to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada said he worked for the Iranian Mines and Mining Industries Development and Renovation Organization, which is authorized in the United States.
Omidi denied working there and said the organization appeared on his form due to a Google Translate error, but said he worked for the mining division.
An article in the Islamic Republic News Agency, the official agency of the Iranian government, refers to him as a deputy minister in the industry ministry.
Omidi’s trial is the first to be held in public since pro-government forces killed thousands of protesters who took part in nationwide anti-government protests in January.
The war launched by the United States and Israel on February 28 is now in its third week, and has brought renewed attention to Iran’s clerical government.
Get the latest country news
Get the best Canadian news delivered to your inbox as it happens so you never miss a trending story.
Iran responded to the attack by firing missiles and drones at its Middle Eastern neighbors and trying to choke off oil and gas exports from its coast.
Global News first reported on Omidi’s deportation last month but at his trial on February 4, the Immigration and Refugee Board barred journalists from watching.
The board did this after Omidi asked for his deportation behind closed doors. He then asked to stop the media from reporting his name or the name of his lawyer.
But Global News fought the unusual restrictions, and the Refugee Board ruled on March 10 that the case would go public.
“For all Canadians, I find that transparency about the nature of the allegations Mr. Omidi is facing is an important safeguard that enables accountability, prevents impunity, and strengthens public confidence in Canada’s legal processes and institutions,” the Board wrote.
“In this context, concealing the identity of Mr. Omidi would have a strong negative/negative effect on public interest in the open court system.”
The refugee board also said there was no concrete evidence that Omidi or his family would be in danger as a result of the open hearing.
Ottawa announced more than three years ago that senior Iranian officials and members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps were banned from Canada.
The move was in response to the killing of Mahsa Amini, who died in government custody after Iran’s religious police arrested her for showing her hair in public.
Her assassination sparked a women’s rights movement that was violently suppressed by the theocratic regime of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
Khamenei was killed in an airstrike at the start of the Iran war, but has now been replaced by his son Mojtaba, indicating that the regime has no intention of reform.
But while border officials have found more than a dozen Iranians living in Canada who they believe are high-ranking members of the regime, removing them has proven challenging.
The IRB has allowed five of the accused officials to stay in Canada, and only one has been expelled so far, although several have also left voluntarily.
Others are still in the line for trial. Only five cases have been made public, including Omidi’s. Global News asked to open them.
Stewart.Bell@globalnews.ca
© 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
