Canada Gave Taxpayer Millions to Iranian VP’s Missile-Tied Son

Canadian authorities awarded millions of dollars in government contracts to the son of a former Iranian vice president while also examining allegations that he helped advance missile technology for the Islamic Republic.

Mohammad Reza Ghafouri Fard, 45, established two companies in Edmonton, Alberta, using the name “Sal Ghafouri.” Those firms secured more than $2 million Canadian dollars [$1,446,370] in federal contracts, including work linked to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the Department of National Defense, according to Global News.

He was also reportedly included in an official Canadian trade mission to Latin America, received a federal business grant and was invited to “propose legislation” to the Alberta government.

At the same time, Canadian officials were investigating Fard over alleged ties to Iran’s military establishment and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Fard is the son of Hassan Ghafouri Fard, an Iranian politician who served as the country’s vice president. A recently declassified Canadian Security Intelligence Service report said the younger Ghafouri Fard was “involved in the research and development of Iranian military technologies.”

The report says Ghafouri Fard helped develop a guided anti-aircraft missile system and a jamming tool designed to “confront American aircraft” for Iran’s military and the Revolutionary Guard. It also alleges he was part of a “covert procurement structure” used to obtain components for Iranian military projects that suppliers would likely have refused to provide because of American sanctions.

Ghafouri Fard has since “admitted to active participation in procurement activities that benefitted the Iranian military, including the IRGC,” the CSIS Security Screening Branch wrote in a January 2023 report obtained by Global News.

The report further states that he “clearly indicated that he did not care that these activities were prohibited.”

Ghafouri first came to Canada in 2005 to earn his master’s degree in engineering at Dalhousie University in Halifax but dropped out after just one week, citing a family emergency, according to Global News.

He then returned to Iran, where his father was a conservative Member of Parliament and a former vice president to Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani – one of the leaders of the 1979 Iranian revolution.

Upon his return to his home country, records show he started to work as an engineer at Rabi Kosar, a company devoted exclusively to research and development projects for Iran’s military. 

He first worked on a system called Shahin, or Hawk, according to the CSIS report, which described it as a medium-range anti-missile system developed by the US army.

By 2010, Iran unveiled its first domestically-built air defense system, which it claimed was better than the Hawk and equipped with Shahin missiles with a 93-mile range.

Ghafouri also allegedly worked on an electronic warfare project called RAAD, which used radio signals to jam enemies’ communication capabilities.

The IRGC air force unveiled the system in 2012, saying it was ‘designed to confront American aircraft at a distance of up to 50 kilometers [31 miles] through the use of associated missiles.’ 

The final project Ghafouri allegedly worked on for Rabi Kosar was called SINA, a direction-finding system that could locate ships in the Persian Gulf and determine their direction of travel. 

When he was asked about his work at the company years later, Ghafouri allegedly claimed he did not deal directly with the Iranian military or IRGC but was in contact with SA Iran – which the intelligence agency said was a ‘satellite company of the Iranian Ministry of Defense.

‘The MoD would then provide the products to the military or IRGC,’ the CSIS report said. ‘Mr Ghafouri Fard maintained contact with an SA Iran buyer to ensure that these projects would be suitable for military use and that the purchased equipment met military standards.’

After 18 months working for Rabi Kosar, Ghafouri was reassigned to a new role as project manager at the company office that illicitly imported components needed for its military projects, according to the CSIS.

‘Working with engineers to identify which specific parts were needed, he would provide the requirements to a Malaysian-based contact, who in turn would source their requirements from third-party countries, to include the United States,’ the report claims.

Taking advantage of that procurement system, Ghafouri launched his own company, Sima Technologies in Iran in 2009, but the business failed. 

A few years later, in 2013, Ghafouri returned to Canada as a permanent resident under the government’s skilled worker program.

He then founded Melanite Group, which lists ‘procurement’ as one of its services – as it lists clients including the governments of Canada, British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario as well as the International Atomic Energy Agency. 

Meanwhile, Ghafouri returned to Iran in 2015 and twice met with members of the country’s Ministry of Intelligence Security, the damning report states.

‘During Mr Ghafouri Fard’s first meeting with MOIS, he provided details of his employment in Canada,’ it said. 

‘He was asked if he traveled to the US and whether he had contacts with either Canadian or American intelligence services.

‘During the second meeting, he was given detailed instructions and warnings, as they related to police or intelligence services approaching him while living in Canada,’ the report continues. ‘He was advised to never travel to the US, as he would be of interest to the Federal Bureau of Investigation due to his involvement with Rabi Kosar.’

Ghafouri then reportedly thanked the agents for the ‘heads up.’

Three years later, he would go on to found a second company in Canada, Radian Group Ltd., which also received government contracts.

Ghafouri registered both companies as Mohammad Reza Ghafouri Fard, but on government contracts he used the name ‘Sal Ghafouri.’ He has since claimed that Salman is his nickname. 

Documents show both Melanite and Radian won multiple contracts over the years to procure materials for Canadian federal agencies, including the RCMP, which hired Ghafouri to purchase a borescope imaging device in 2019.

The Canadian defense department also hired his company to supply ‘snow vehicle parts’ to CFB-Shilo in Manitoba, where Canadian, US and allied troops are trained, as well as another military contract to procure six vehicle lifts in Halifax. Together the two contracts were worth more than $1.5 million CAD [$1,084,371.32 USD].

Correctional Service of Canada similarly awarded Melanite a $100,000 CAD [$72,318] contract in 2019, while in 2021, the company won a $380,000 CAD [$27,4810] contract from Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada.

When the company failed to receive government contracts, Ghafouri fought back. 

In 2019, the company alleged it was improperly disqualified from a military contract and in 2021 it alleged there were ‘irregularities’ in the bidding process.

Melanite’s most recent contract came in 2024, when it was granted $50,000 CAD [$36,159.25] from the Canadian Forces to supply ‘road motor vehicles’ to Borden, Ontario, the location of the Canadian military’s largest training base.

That contract came after CSIS completed its security report in 2023 and sent it to immigration authorities handling his case. 

But even as his businesses grew, national security officials were investigating Ghafouri, who had applied for Canadian citizenship in 2017. 

His application for citizenship was suspended within just a matter of months at the request of Canada Border Services Agency intelligence unit, which raised national security concerns.

Ghafouri has tried to fight the judgment ever since, trying to get help from his local Liberal MP and even former Minister of Public Safety Ralph Goodale’s office before he took matters into his own hands.

In a letter to the director of the CSIS, Ghafouri denied he had been involved in any ‘military or political matter in Canada or abroad’ and expressed his ‘dissatisfaction’ with the security screening process.

He has since also filed a complaint to the National Security and Intelligence Review Agency and is pursuing legal action against the immigration department, arguing the handling of his citizenship application has caused him ‘hardship and prejudice.’

He said the delays have forced him to miss a memorial for his father, who passed away in 2023, and he was unable to join Canadian government trade missions. 

‘We have built our family, professional and community endeavors in Edmonton, Canada,’ Ghafouri wrote. 

‘And the uncertainty and delays associated with the processing of the citizenship applications and whether we will be able to stay in Canada has permanently placed a big toil on our family.’ 

Ghafouri also argued in the court documents he answered CSIS’s questions ‘in a truthful and forthright manner,’ had made significant contributions to Canada and was not a security threat.

His lawyers similarly argued that government agencies would not have contracted his services or invited him on overseas trade missions if it viewed him as  a threat.

‘It’s hard to see, if there were real security concerns, how he would be permitted to engage in such business activities,’ the lawyers argued.

In a statement to Global News, lawyer Bjorna Shkurti also noted that Ghafouri ‘has lived in Canada for over a decade and has undergone multiple security screenings, both as a temporary resident and as a permanent resident.

‘He strongly disputes the allegations made against him and intends to pursue all available legal avenues until the matter is fully resolved.

The Daily Mail has also reached out to the lawyer, CSIS, the Border Service Agency, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada as well as the Canadian agencies that have done business with Ghafouri for comment.