Why Canada doesn’t have diplomatic relations with Iran anymore

There are at least 3,000 Canadian citizens and permanent residents in Iran as protests and a brutal regime crackdown roil the country that Canada no longer has diplomatic relations with. Canadians in Iran are being urged to “leave now” if it is safe to do so and make a land border crossing to either Turkey or Armenia to access any consular support services. Without diplomatic relations, Canada and Iran maintain no embassies or diplomatic staff in each other’s countries. Italy acts as what is known as a “protecting power” for Canada in Iran, with a limited diplomatic capacity for handling emergency consular cases. Switzerland acts in that role for Iran in Canada, and Iran’s shuttered embassy in Ottawa was defaced earlier this week. But it hasn’t always been that way - so how did we get here? How did relations break down? The freeze in diplomatic relations goes back more than a decade. The Conservative government led by former prime minister Stephen Harper placed economic sanctions on Iran in 2010 over fears that Iran was pursuing the development of nuclear weapons. The federal government at the time said this was done “in close consultation with like-minded partners, including the United States and the European Union.” Soon after , the government suspended all bilateral trade with Iran and severed all diplomatic ties with the Islamic Republic of Iran in 2012. The 2012 suspension of diplomatic relations cited Iran’s “increasing military assistance” to Syrian dictator Bashar Al Assad during his brutal crackdown on Arab Spring protests, which included his use of chemical weapons against his own people. Former foreign affairs minister John Baird, in a statement, called Iran “the most significant threat to global peace and security in the world” at the time, and Canada designated Iran as a “state supporter of terrorism.” The Canadian embassy in Tehran was closed on Sept. 7, 2012. All Iranian diplomats in Canada were expelled and Canadians in Iran were asked to travel to the Canadian embassy in Ankara, Turkey, for assistance. Soon after Canada closed its embassy, Ottawa designated Italy as its protecting power. Attempt at normalization In 2015, a new Liberal Canadian government under then-prime minister Justin Trudeau vowed to renew ties after the Iran nuclear deal, also known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action or JCPOA. Get daily National news Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy . As part of the deal, Iran agreed to limit any activities in its nuclear program that could lead to the production of weapons-grade uranium. In return, most nations agreed to lift some of the sanctions against Tehran. In February 2016, Canada lifted some sanctions against Iran “in order to contribute to international efforts to recognize the progress made under the JCPOA.” However, some restrictions remained on “Iran’s access to sensitive goods from Canada, especially with respect to nuclear proliferation and the development of ballistic missiles.” Ties worsen again The thaw did not last long. In 2018, the first administration of U.S. President Donald Trump withdrew...

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