Canada closes Tehran embassy, kicks out diplomats
BY ROB GILLIES Associated Press
Saturday, September 08, 2012
9/08/12 at 5:33 AM
Canada shut its embassy in Tehran on Friday, severed diplomatic relations and ordered Iranian diplomats to leave, accusing the Islamic Republic of being the most significant threat to world peace.
The surprise action reinforces the Conservative government's close ties with Tehran's arch-foe Israel but also removes some of Washington's eyes and ears inside the Iranian capital.
It comes as Iran's talks with world powers over its nuclear program have stalled and Israel is weighing the option of a military strike to prevent it from developing atomic weapons. Iran insists its nuclear program is for peaceful objectives only.
The move also underscores the widening gaps between Western countries' attempts to isolate and punish Iran and Tehran's efforts to forge closer ties with energy-hungry Asian trading partners such as India and Pakistan to counter Western sanctions.
Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird said that the Canadian embassy in Tehran will close immediately and Iranian diplomats in Canada have been given five days to leave.
A spokesman for Iran's foreign ministry, Ramin Mehmanparast, called Canada's decision "hasty and extreme" and said that Iran would soon respond, the semiofficial Fars news agency reported.
A note in Persian posted on the door of Iran's embassy in Ottawa read: "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."
Baird said Canada was officially designating Iran a state sponsor of terrorism and gave a long list of reasons for Canada's decision, including Tehran's support for Syria's embattled President Bashar Assad in that country's civil war.
"The Iranian regime is providing increasing military assistance to the Assad regime; it refuses to comply with U.N. resolutions pertaining to its nuclear program; it routinely threatens the existence of Israel and engages in racist anti-Semitic rhetoric and incitement to genocide," Baird said in a statement. "It is among the world's worst violators of human rights; and it shelters and materially supports terrorist groups."
Baird said he also was worried about the safety of diplomats in Tehran following attacks on the British embassy there.
Britain downgraded ties with Iran following an attack on its embassy in Tehran in November 2011, which it insists was sanctioned by the Islamic Republic's ruling elite. After the attack, Britain pulled all of its diplomats out of Iran and expelled Iranian diplomats from U.K. soil.
Most European countries maintain a diplomatic presence in Tehran despite increased tensions over European Union sanctions that block imports of Iranian oil.
Canadian relations with Iran have been strained since former Canadian Ambassador Ken Taylor helped rescue six Americans during the hostage crisis three decades ago. But relations soured again in 2003 after Zahra Kazemi, a freelance photographer, died in custody. Kazemi was arrested while taking photographs outside a Tehran prison in 2003.
Canada also has criticized Iran over the arrest of Canadian-Iranian blogger Hossein Derakshan, who was detained in 2008 and sentenced to nearly 20 years in prison two years later.
Original Print Headline: Canada closes embassy in Iran, severing ties
Associated Images:
People wait at the door of the Iranian embassy in Ottawa to collect passports on Friday. The Canadian government says it is shutting its embassy in Tehran and severing diplomatic relations amid recent attacks on foreign diplomats in Iran. Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird said Friday that the Canadian embassy in Tehran will close immediately and Iranian diplomats in Canada have been given five days to leave. FRED CHARTRAND/Associated Press
Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird gave a long list of reasons for Canada's decision. ADRIAN WYLD/ Associated Press
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