Masood Masjoody is shown in this undated handout photo. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Handout — Integrated Homicide Investigation Team (Mandatory Credit)

By The Canadian Press

Slain Iran critic Masjoody said months ago that murder suspects wanted to poison him

Mar 16, 2026 | 1:00 AM

VANCOUVER — An Iranian dissident found dead in British Columbia this month had accused the two people now charged with murdering him of being aligned with Iran’s government and trying to obtain poison to kill him last year.

In an affidavit obtained by The Canadian Press, Masood Masjoody said he was warned by a member of a group that involved suspects Arezou Soltani and Mehdi Ahmadzadeh Razavi that they “sought a substance with which to murder me.”

Sgt. Freda Fong, with the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team, said over the weekend that investigators believe the killing of Masjoody, whose cause of death has not been announced, was “targeted,” and that the Burnaby man had “ongoing disputes” with the suspects.

In B.C. Supreme Court civil filings, Masjoody had accused Soltani of “alignment” with the Iranian regime, while other legal documents referring to his accusations say that Razavi had “loyalty” to Iran’s intelligence services.

The claims were denied by both suspects in subsequent replies to the legal action and the claims have not been tested in court.

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Soltani and Razavi made a brief appearance by video in B.C. provincial court on Monday, where they only spoke to confirm their identities.

A judge imposed a publication ban on evidence emerging at their bail hearing and set March 25 for their next appearance.

In his Nov. 12 affidavit, Masjoody identified a B.C. naturopath as the source of the information about the “substance” supposedly intended to murder him.

He said the woman expressed concern to Masjoody that because he had named her in a court filing, that Soltani and Razavi “would also make an attempt to murder (her) and hurt her family.”

Soltani said in an April 2025 affidavit that she got to know Masjoody through the Iranian protest movement and had tried to help him with housing and other support.

She said she and others decided to “distance ourselves” from Masjoody when they found out about his alleged “multiple serious conflicts” with women.

Soltani said she believed this was why Masjoody was angry and frustrated with her, turning up at her home and workplace to serve various legal documents and posting videos of the encounters on social media.

Razavi said in response to one of the civil actions that he was the victim of “harassment” by Masjoody.

Homicide investigators have said Masjoody was last seen in February, and his remains were found in Mission, B.C., on March 6.

Court records show Masjoody filed numerous lawsuits in recent years naming many parties as defendants, including the suspects in his murder and exiled former crown prince of Iran, Reza Pahlavi, alleging defamation and harassment.

Court documents and Masjoody’s social media posts show that while he was a critic of the Iranian regime, he also accused members of the dissident community, including Pahlavi, of having connections or alignments with Iran’s regime and its Revolutionary Guards Corps.

U.S.-based Pahlavi, who has been frequently discussed as a potential future leader of Iran, said in an affidavit filed in November that he did not know Masjoody, that he denied all of the allegations, and that “Mehdi Ahmadzadeh” was not affiliated with him or acting as his agent.

Masjoody was declared a “vexatious litigant” by the B.C. Court of Appeal last year.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 16, 2026.

Darryl Greer, The Canadian Press