Toronto Shootings: Court files link Iranian funding to 12 attacks

Court documents and police records indicate the Iranian government likely paid for 12 politically motivated shootings in the Greater Toronto Area. The attacks struck synagogues, a school, and the U.S. Consulate in downtown Toronto. Most incidents occurred in the hours and days after the United States and Israel began bombing Iran on February 28, 2026, and assassinated Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Investigators describe the crimes as a coordinated campaign of violence known as Violence as a Service. Suspects arrived in stolen cars during the early morning hours. They emptied handguns into building entrances while filming the acts on mobile phones. No one was injured in the Toronto shootings. The pattern suggests a foreign power instigated the attacks, though identifying the payer proved difficult due to the encrypted communication apps used to arrange the hits.

Chief Superintendent Joe Matthews, who oversees the Toronto Police Service investigation, stated that the department is investigating every angle of potential foreign involvement. He noted that police do not believe there is a direct connection between the financier and the perpetrator on the street. Matthews confirmed that ballistic tests link firearms used in attacks on Jewish targets with those used in incidents targeting businesses associated with waste management company Green For Life. The police say the same hired guns likely carried out both types of attacks.

The FBI arrested Mohammad Baqer al-Saadi in May 2026. He faces six terrorism-related charges in New York State. Prosecutors allege he is a senior member of Harakat Ashab al-Yamin al-Islamiya, a militia controlled by Iran’s Revolutionary Guard. The indictment claims he helped plan at least 18 attacks in Europe and two in Canada. The Canadian targets included 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 North America and Europe.

Keir Giles, a security analyst at Chatham House in London, compared the Iranian method to tactics Russia has used in Europe since its invasion of Ukraine. Giles observed that once a technique for achieving nefarious aims is demonstrated, other actors adopt it. He noted that encrypted apps have made it easier and cheaper to recruit willing or unknowing dupes to carry out attacks. The Iranian Foreign Ministry did not respond to requests for comment regarding its alleged involvement in the Toronto incidents. Tehran has previously dismissed claims that it sponsors violence worldwide.

Rabbi Daniel Korobkin of Beth Avraham Yoseph of Toronto synagogue addressed the congregation after a March 2026 attack peppered the front doors and windows with gunfire. He stated that the community recognizes efforts to make Jews the pariah of the story. Korobkin said the congregation refuses to be intimidated by the fact that the orders may have come from thousands of miles away. He emphasized that the end result is the same whether the hater pulls the trigger or pays someone else to do so.

Many of the suspects in the Toronto cases are young, ranging in age from 15 to their early 20s. Most face charges for multiple attacks. The investigation into who paid the trigger men continues as police try to trace the money through layers of intermediaries.