The government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has reversed Canada’s long-stated goal to improve relations with the Islamic Republic of Iran.
On Tuesday, the government sided with an opposition motion in parliament demanding that Ottawa "immediately cease all negotiations or discussions" on restoring diplomatic relations with Iran.
Conservative senators had previously brought forward similar legislation and it was defeated last month by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau-appointed senators, the Toronto Sun reported.
However, in a reversal, the first one to stand up was Prime Minister Justin Trudeau himself. Then the whole Liberal cabinet, followed by much of the caucus, stood up to vote in favor of the motion put forward by Conservative MP Garnett Genuis.
It is hard to understate just what a reversal this represents. Trudeau campaigned on restoring diplomatic relations with Iran and this motion calls for the government to “abandon its current plan and immediately cease any and all negotiations or discussion with the Islamic Republic of Iran to restore diplomatic relations.”
So what Trudeau did by standing up in support of an opposition MP’s mere motion was to signal a complete change in the Canadian government’s Iran policy. What had previously been characterized as a policy of appeasement now appears to be one rooted in toughness.
Embassy Closure
Ottawa shut down its embassy in Tehran and expelled Iranian diplomats in 2012, calling Iran "the biggest threat to global security" at the time.
The move came after the UK Embassy in the Iranian capital was stormed in 2011 in protest against new sanctions imposed by London and then closed. Britain reopened its embassy in 2015.
The Canadian announcement then had offered a long list of grievances for cutting ties, including Iran's nuclear program, hostility toward Israel, assistance to Syria and alleged support for terrorist groups. Tehran denies backing terrorism.
