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CBC
9 hours ago
- Politics
- CBC
With no embassy in Tehran, Canada reacts to turmoil in Iran from afar
Social Sharing Neither Israel nor Iran is backing down from an escalating conflict that has endangered civilians in both countries, and because Canada has no embassy in Iran, Ottawa is having to work from afar to support thousands of Canadian citizens stuck there. While Canada has an embassy in Israel, it severed diplomatic relations with Tehran more than a decade ago. Though having an embassy presence would provide Canada with certain advantages, analysts and observers say there are limits in what can be done on the ground with so much chaos unfolding. WATCH | Urgent talks at a tense time: Talks and tensions: The CBC's Natasha Fatah talks with former U.S. ambassador Philip Reeker 12 hours ago Duration 8:40 European officials urged Iran to restrict its nuclear program hoping for off-ramp from conflict before President Trump decides whether to join Israel's bombing campaign. Get the latest on the CBC News App, and CBC News Network for breaking news and analysis That said, Bruce Mabley, a retired diplomat whose postings included stints in the Middle East, says having a diplomatic presence at least allows both countries to potentially talk to one another. "It's stupid not to be there," he said. A long way to the border Global Affairs Canada did not respond to questions from CBC News about how the lack of an embassy presence was impacting Ottawa's efforts to support Canadians inside Iran. But even if Canada did have an embassy in Tehran right now, that wouldn't change the fact that flights aren't leaving the capital. Both Iran and Israel had closed their airspaces while launching numerous attacks over the last week, though Iran recently allowed an Indian flight to leave from another part of the country, and several more were reportedly expected to follow. Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand has publicly urged Canadians fleeing both Israel and Iran to head to Jordan, Armenia and Turkey. But the journey to neighbouring nations of Turkey or Armenia is a long one for anyone living in the Iranian capital, which is hundreds of kilometres from either of those destinations. "The border is really far away," said University of Toronto history professor Mohamad Tavakoli-Targhi, who was born in Tehran and has family still in Iran. He says the roads out of the Iranian capital have been jammed with people trying to flee, making that route out more difficult. A tense journey One of his students, Hanieh Bakhtiari, recently travelled back to Iran to visit her parents, and the fighting started days after she arrived. Bakhtiari and her partner fled the country on a bus, in a tense, 11-hour journey to Turkey, during which she says she was "constantly watching" the skies for potential attacks. "We were … very much scared of being attacked while we were on the road," said Bakhtiari, who spoke to CBC's As It Happens about her journey out of Iran. Israel began a wave of attacks on June 13, targeting Iranian military and nuclear sites with airstrikes that have killed high-ranking Iranian generals and nuclear scientists. The Washington-based group Human Rights Activists in Iran says that as of Thursday, at least 657 people have been killed in the Israeli attacks, and of those, at least 263 were civilians. Iran has launched retaliatory strikes, which the Israeli military estimates have involved at least 450 missiles and 1,000 drones. At least two dozen people in Israel have been killed. The Israeli push against Iran may draw U.S. involvement, though U.S. President Donald Trump has delayed making a decision. WATCH | From 2013, a look at the top-secret closure of Canada's Embassy in Iran: Inside Canada's top-secret diplomatic exit from Iran 12 years ago Duration 4:26 One year later, CBC's Terry Milewski has exclusive new details The costs of cutting ties Opinions are split among observers on whether it would be better for Canada to have an embassy in Tehran. "Having an embassy in Tehran would not be a panacea," said Peter G. Bates, a retired Canadian diplomat who was twice posted to Tehran and helped close the Canadian embassy there in 2012. Phil Gurski, a former Iran intelligence analyst for Canadian spy agencies, finds himself "on both sides" of the debate. On one hand, he says there's a point where a line is crossed that cannot be tolerated, but when an embassy gets shut down and ties are cut, "you're essentially flying blind." Gurski says there are other ways for the government to monitor events in Iran — including reviewing information from satellites, the use of signals intelligence, or conferring with friendly embassies about what's unfolding on the ground. Gurski, Mabley and Bates all note that when an embassy is closed, a government will typically ask an ally with an embassy presence in that same region to provide support in its absence. However, any friendly embassy doing favours for Canada will expectedly prioritize the needs of its own citizens first. And as things escalate between Israel and Iran, any such ally may also be getting similar requests from other nations that don't have a diplomatic presence in Tehran. U of T's Tavakoli-Targhi sees a clear benefit that an embassy provides, beyond giving diplomatic staff better access to citizens abroad.
National Post
19-05-2025
- Politics
- National Post
Alan Kessel: Anand's one-sided comments on Israel a strategic blunder
Practically the first words out of Anita Anand's mouth after she became Canada's new foreign affairs minister were not about reaffirming alliances, protecting Canadian citizens abroad or defending democratic norms. Instead, she chose to cast immediate blame on Israel for the devastating conditions in Gaza — without acknowledging, let alone condemning, Hamas's horrific October 7 massacre, which precipitated this war. Article content Article content Article content This was no small omission. On that day, Hamas terrorists infiltrated Israel, brutally murdering 1,200 people — including women, children, the elderly and at least eight Canadian citizens. It was the deadliest single day for Jews since the Holocaust. Any serious foreign minister, especially one stepping into the role during an active conflict, should have led with that fact. Article content Article content Yet Anand's statement focused almost exclusively on Israel's conduct. She used the language of 'aggression,' suggesting a one-sided moral landscape, and offered no contextual recognition that Hamas is a terrorist organization that has embedded itself within civilian infrastructure while firing thousands of rockets into Israeli cities. That is not just a diplomatic fumble, it's a profound strategic misstep. Article content Historically, Canada's foreign policy has rested on the principles of sovereignty, accountability and collective security. We joined the global coalition in Afghanistan after 9/11, not only out of solidarity with the United States but because 24 Canadians were murdered in the attack. We understood that terror organizations like al-Qaida and its Taliban hosts represented a global threat and that inaction or equivocation was not an option. Article content Article content And yet here we are, just over two decades later, with a Canadian foreign minister choosing to emphasize Israeli 'aggression' while downplaying or ignoring the role of Hamas — a group every bit as ideologically extreme and operationally ruthless as al-Qaida. The contradiction is glaring. When Canada's own citizens were murdered by terrorists on 9/11, we mobilized militarily and diplomatically. When Canadians are murdered by Hamas in Israel, the new foreign minister offers language that reads like equivocation, if not appeasement. Article content Article content This is not just morally incoherent, it's strategically dangerous. It signals to allies that Canada cannot be counted on in times of crisis. It suggests that our foreign policy may be governed more by trending narratives than by hard realities. And it invites adversaries to believe that Canada's leadership can be pressured or swayed by asymmetric warfare and media optics. Article content So the question must be asked: was this a rookie misstep, or the first clear signal of a broader shift under the Carney government? If this was Anand speaking out of turn — before receiving a full briefing or grasping the nuance of Canada's historical posture in the Middle East — then she has done herself and the country a disservice. The Foreign Ministry is not a place for ideological improvisation or headline-chasing rhetoric. It requires precision, balance and, above all, a grounding in facts.
