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Canada Cuts Diplomatic Ties With Iran

Subrina Hudson |
September 7, 2012 | 10:05 a.m. PDT

Executive Producer

 

Canada's Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird announced an end to diplomatic relations with Iran. (Andrew Rusk/Flickr)
Canada's Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird announced an end to diplomatic relations with Iran. (Andrew Rusk/Flickr)
Canada has announced that it is closing diplomatic ties with Iran on Friday and closed its embassy in Iran, in addition to expelling any remaining Iranian diplomats in Ottawa.

According to The Globe and Mail, Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird said the decision was a result of many reasons that includes Iran's support of Syria's President Bashar al-Assad, its nuclear program, its support for organizations Ottawa considers to be terrorist groups, its human rights record, its threats against Israel and the 1979 hostage taking at the U.S. embassy in Tehran.

"Canada views the government of Iran as the most significant threat to global peace and security in the world today," said Baird. "Under the circumstances, Canada can no longer maintain a diplomatic presence in Tehran."

The Globe and Mail

The practical implications of the move appear to be limited. Relations between Ottawa and Tehran have been adversarial for a decade, and Canada hasn’t had a fully accredited ambassador in Iran since John Mundy was expelled in 2007 for unspecified reasons.

Mr. Baird said Iranian diplomats stationed in Ottawa have been given five days to leave the country.

Staff levels at the Canadian Embassy in Tehran were already at a bare minimum before the move, he said, and the last “seven or eight” Canadian diplomats stationed there have now left the country.

Reach Executive Producer Subrina Hudson here; follow her on Twitter here.

 



 

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