Iranian officials are banned from Canada — but this former regime member landed in April

Mahdi Nasiri let the world know he was on his way to Canada in April.

The former high-profile Iranian official posted a series of farewell photos — including a goodbye hug — on Instagram for his more than 250,000 followers and anyone else to see.

He has been in Canada ever since.

But now, according to a source, his name has been reported to the RCMP. And Canadian security authorities are facing calls from the public to investigate why he was allowed to enter in the first place — and if he should be kicked out.

"To see that he can easily come to Canada and in fact celebrate it, and post pictures from the airport saying 'I've arrived,' it sets off alarm bells among a lot of Iranians," said lawyer and human rights activist Kaveh Shahrooz.

Nasiri has been described as an important hardliner in Iran during the 2000s. He didn't deny his past roles to CBC News, but also said he's been critical of Iran's regime for the past six years and now supports the country's liberal opposition leader.

The Trudeau government promised in 2022 to crack down on current and former senior Iranian regime officials living in Canada after mounting public pressure and safety concerns. Iranian Canadians had reported harassment, intimidation and surveillance they believed was tied to Tehran. Canada's spy agency verified death threats from Iran were real. And an explosive U.S. indictment revealed an Iranian plot to kidnap Canadians.

WATCH | Fighting to keep the Iranian regime out:

Canadians of Iranian descent are worried members and affiliates of the Islamic Republic of Iran may continue to come to Canada as pressure mounts on the regime. They say Canadian officials aren’t acting fast enough to stop it, and some are taking matters into their own hands.

In response, the government designated the leadership of Iran's government, security and intelligence agencies as inadmissible to Canada in 2022 for allegedly engaging in terrorism and systemic and gross human rights violations. That designation expanded last year to ban anyone from Canada who served as a senior official with Iran's government anytime since June 2003.

But Nasiri is the latest case raising questions about how effective Canada's crackdown is. So far, only one senior Iranian official has been removed from the country.

Nasiri is well known for his role as managing director of the most conservative Iranian newspaper, Kayhan, in the 1990s — funded by Iran's supreme leader.

"He was very prominent in state-owned media, which is often the platform that the regime itself used to go after dissidents, to create charges against people that are outspoken," said Shahrooz, who is critical of the regime.

Nasiri was then appointed to a key role as political deputy of the policymaking council of Friday imams across the country from 2001 to 2005.

"The Friday prayers are the main platform that Iran delivers its talking points and propaganda to supporters, and is a job entrusted to people closely tied to the regime," Shahrooz said.

"The fact that he had that role indicates to me that he was part and parcel of this regime."

Nasiri went on to be appointed a senior representative of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei's office in the United Arab Emirates until 2009, according to Iranian media reports.

The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) says, broadly, senior Iranian officials who served from 2003 onward are inadmissible to Canada. But it won't say if it's looking into Nasiri's case.

Nasiri defended himself when contacted by CBC News for comment.

"I have repeatedly explained my professional background in media interviews and have openly criticized that period," Nasiri said in a written statement. "There is nothing hidden in my past."

"Moreover, I have never held any military, security or intelligence position. My role at Kayhan newspaper was journalistic and my position within the organization of Friday imams was religious and devotional."

Nasiri wouldn't confirm if his last job with Iran's government was in the UAE when asked by CBC News.

Nasiri said it only took him a few days in 2023 — before the ban was expanded — to get a visitor's visa attached to his passport from the Canadian consulate in Istanbul. His son is a Canadian citizen who invited him and his mother to visit, he said.

A visitor visa can be valid for up to 10 years.

When asked if he disclosed his time with Iran's government to Canadian officials, Nasiri said he didn't have to.

"I was asked only about my activities over the past 10 years, during which I have held no government positions," Nasiri said.

CBC News asked Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada why it allegedly didn't ask Nasiri about his earlier work experience.

The department said it can't comment on specific cases, but said visa applicants are "carefully assessed."

"Senior officials subject to the regime designation could have their visa cancelled, lose their temporary or permanent residence status and be removed from Canada," said IRCC spokesperson Jeffrey MacDonald.

Kelly Sundberg, a criminology professor at Mount Royal University who specializes in border security, says it's not surprising Nasiri wasn't asked more questions.

He says Canada's immigration screening and enforcement is "at a point of crisis."

Speaking broadly about the system, Sundberg said "the CBSA and federal departments have been well aware of this neglect and have often intentionally turned a blind eye."

Nasiri said he'd "prefer not to answer" if he's facing an immigration hearing, but confirmed he's not aware of any CBSA investigation into his visa.

Nasiri told CBC News he understands Iranian Canadians are concerned about current and former regime officials in Canada. He said "they are justified in their concerns" and called the Islamic Republic of Iran "a dictatorial and repressive regime."

"However, I have been an active critic and, indeed, an opponent of the Islamic Republic for the past six years," Nasiri said in his statement to CBC News.

He said he has a "liberal stance" now and supports Iranian opposition leader Reza Pahlavi, a proponent of liberal democracy and member of the dynasty that ruled the country before the 1979 revolution.

Nasiri has an active YouTube page where he frequently posts his interviews critical of the regime, including on the BBC.

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Iranian analyst and journalist Babak Taghvaee says he wants Canadian security officials to look into Nasiri's case because of what he calls "red flags."

Taghvaee published an article with American think-tank the Middle East Forum about how Iran's regime officials allegedly rebrand themselves as opponents of the regime to stay in Canada — and named Nasiri as an example.

He said Nasiri was once one of the "most important hardliners" in Iran.

Taghvaee says his role as an editor at Kayhan suggests he could have had the highest levels of clearance from Iranian intelligence and was co-operating or even collaborating with them. He also said his role with Friday prayer imams was important because they are known to receive directives from the regime.

"They receive orders to speak about the specific topics during Friday prayers," he said. "About politics, about military security and economies and anything related to what the regime wants for the purpose of psychological warfare and propaganda."

Taghvaee says former Iranian regime members who are trying to settle in Western countries commonly criticize the regime and side with opposition parties to create evidence for a future refugee or asylum case.

"Sometimes these individuals are afraid to get deported or arrested. They go into survival mode," said Taghvaee, who has been critical of the regime.

Nasiri says he has not applied for refugee status and hopes to return to Iran soon, but didn't say when.

Regardless of his stance publicly, Vancouver lawyer Mojdeh Shahriari points out that existing Canadian law should prevent senior Iranian officials like Nasiri from ever entering the country.

"Whether or not he has genuinely changed is not for me to judge, and doesn't really concern the law," said Shahriari.

CBSA says since 2022, more than 130 suspected Iranian regime officials' visas were cancelled, 20 people were reported inadmissible and three cases have made it through immigration hearings resulting in deportation letters.

"It's almost laughable, unfortunately," said Shahriari.

Shahriari is a former member of the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada and now runs a grassroots group she says is investigating more than 375 suspected Iranian regime members, their families and businesses on Canadian soil.

She says the CBSA numbers are "miniscule" compared to the evidence Shahriari passed on to Canadian authorities about nearly 100 suspected Iranian officials already in Canada.

She won't say if Nasiri is one of them, citing confidentiality.

"The question is: how on Earth did these people get a visa to come to Canada in the first place?" she said.