OTTAWA (Reuters) -Canada’s domestic spy agency this year foiled potentially lethal threats by Iran directed against people whom Tehran sees as enemies, the agency’s head said in a rare speech on Thursday.

Dan Rogers, director of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, also said his agents had blocked attempts by Russia to illegally acquire Canadian goods and technologies.

Rogers, appointed in February, spoke as he presented an annual update on security challenges facing Canada. CSIS directors seldom appear in public.

His comments were the first confirmation that the agency has intervened to protect Canada-based critics of Iran. In August, CSIS had merely said it was probing Iranian threats.

“In particularly alarming cases over the last year, we’ve had to reprioritize our operations

See Full Page