Canada breaks with Iran over Syria and support of terror

QUEBEC CITY, QUEBEC - Calling Iran "the most significant threat to global peace and security in the world today," Canada's foreign affairs minister, John Baird, abruptly announced on Friday that his government had cut all diplomatic ties with the country.

Baird told reporters in Vladivostok, Russia, where he was attending an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, that Canada had closed its embassy in Tehran and given Iranian diplomats in Canada five days to leave. An online list prepared by the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade indicated Friday morning that there were 18 Iranian diplomats in Canada.

The action by Canada contrasts with its decision in 1979 to keep its embassy in Tehran open after the U.S. Embassy there was seized by students and several diplomats were held hostage. Six Americans found sanctuary in the Canadian Embassy.

Baird offered numerous reasons for his decision, including an attack in November by a crowd on the British Embassy in Tehran, which led to concerns for the safety of Canadian diplomats there.

"The Iranian regime has shown blatant disregard for the Vienna Convention and its guarantee of protection for diplomatic personnel," Baird said.

He also noted international criticism of Iran over its support of the government of President Bashar Assad in Syria as it violently suppresses a widespread popular uprising. He also cited its human rights record, its assistance to terrorist groups and its noncompliance with U.N. resolutions concerning its nuclear program.

He added that Iran "routinely threatens the existence of Israel and engages in racist anti-Semitic rhetoric and incitement to genocide."

In a statement, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a staunch opponent of Iran, praised his Canadian counterpart, Stephen Harper, for "for taking a bold leadership decision that sends a clear message to Iran and the entire world."

Netanyahu added: "The resolve that was demonstrated by Canada is highly important in order for the Iranians to realize that they cannot continue their race toward nuclear weapons."

Harper's Conservative government has been very supportive of Israel on a variety of issues and has mirrored its aggressive stance on Iran.

The Canadian Embassy had already been reduced to about seven or eight staff members before the closing. Canada has not had a fully accredited ambassador in Iran since 2007, when Iran expelled the ambassador for unspecified reasons. The expulsion followed prolonged Canadian protests over the killing of a photojournalist, Zahra Kazemi, in an Iranian prison in 2003.

Baird did not say why the decision to cut diplomatic relations had taken so long after the British Embassy episode, but he swiftly rejected suggestions that the move indicated that a military attack on Iran by Israel or other nations was imminent.

Source: http://www.startribune.com/nation/168993196.html

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