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Canada slams the door shut on Iran
Unexpectedly closes its embassy, orders nation's diplomats to leave
Fred Chartrand / The Canadian Press People stand outside the Iranian embassy in Ottawa Friday to collect their passports. (CP)
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OTTAWA -- Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird delivered a diplomatic bolt from the blue Friday, abruptly and unexpectedly severing ties with Iran, shuttering Canada's embassy there and giving Iranian diplomats in Ottawa five days to get out of the country.
Baird rattled off a litany of long-standing grievances with Iran during a news conference in the Russian city of Vladivostok, where he and Prime Minister Stephen Harper are participating in this weekend's meeting of Asia Pacific Co-operation leaders.
"The Iranian regime has shown blatant disregard for the Vienna Convention and its guarantee of protection for diplomatic personnel," said Baird, adding the government on Friday formally listed Iran as a state sponsor of terrorism.
"Under the circumstances, Canada can no longer maintain a diplomatic presence in Iran. Our diplomats serve Canada as civilians, and their safety is our No. 1 priority."
Diplomatic relations between Canada and Iran have been growing ever more strained in recent years, but there was no apparent catalyst for the decision to cut off all ties.
Officials at the Iranian Embassy in Ottawa did not return calls Friday. People showed up outside the imposing red-brick building seeking passport-related services, only to learn from a note on the door the embassy had closed up shop.
"Because of the hostile decision by the government of Canada, the embassy of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Ottawa is closed and has no choice but to stop providing any consular services for its dear citizens," said the note, written in Persian.
Ordinary Canadians were also being warned Friday to avoid any travel to Iran.
In his news conference, Baird justified the move by reciting familiar complaints Canada and others around the world have been making for months, if not years.
He cited an eight-month-old attack on the British Embassy in Tehran as evidence Canada's own diplomats there are in danger.
He also accused Iran of providing military assistance to the Assad regime in war-riven Syria, failing to comply with UN resolutions regarding its nuclear program and "materially" supporting terrorist groups.
And, for good measure, he accused Iran of "routinely" threatening the existence of Israel, engaging in racist anti-Semitic rhetoric and incitement to genocide, and called the country "among the world's worst violators of human rights."
"Canada," he said, "views the government of Iran as the most significant threat to global peace and security in the world today."
A spokesman for Iran's foreign ministry, Ramin Mehmanparast, called Canada's decision "hasty and extreme" and said Iran would soon respond, the semi-official Fars news agency reported.
The timing of the move also left experts puzzled.
"There are many issues involved here -- human rights abuses, the nuclear ambitions, the support for Syria -- but in terms of why now, and why not six months ago, why not a year ago, there's no answer to that," said Paul Sedra, a history professor at Simon Fraser University.
"So I can't really see the rationale behind taking the move and this point and I think that really reduces the effectiveness of the step."
-- CP, with files from AP
Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition September 8, 2012 A19
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