Iranians in Canada caught using fake Israeli passports

Haaretz

Seven Iranians were caught using fake Israeli passports at the Vancouver International Airport, Ynet reported Thursday.

The Iranians, whose identity is unknown, were posing as a family from the central Israeli city of Rehovot, according to the Israeli news website.

The individuals evidently sought to immigrate to Canada. They may have been trying to take advantage of Israelis’ ability to travel to Canada without a visa. Citizens of Iran, by contrast, need a visa to enter the country.

The passports listed the Iranians’ names and ages as Mona, 48; Tomer, 40; Nadine, 15; Narin, 11; Binyamin, 9; Marin, 6; and Nermin, 5. The last name used in the documents was Solomon.

The passports, however, contained several Hebrew errors and mismatched translations, allowing authorities to recognize them as forgeries. The passports were then sent to Israel’s Population and Immigration Authority, which confirmed that the documents were fake.

Several Iranians have in recent years tried to enter various countries with fake Israeli passports.

In April, an Iranian national carrying a forged Israeli passport was arrested while loitering outside the Israeli embassy in the Nepalese capital of Kathmandu. It was not clear what his intentions were, and whether he was simply a scout or was capable of actually attacking the embassy, its employees or visitors.