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File photo of the Canadian ambassador's car in Tehran/AFP

World

Canada breaks off relations with Iran

Friday’s move “is a sign of the very pronounced rapprochement between Canada and Israel,” and of an ever-stronger shift away from Iran, he added.

In July, Ottawa warned Iran not to recruit agents in Canada after an Iranian envoy was quoted urging Iranian-Canadians to “occupy high-level key positions” and to “resist being melted into the dominant Canadian culture.”

Ties have also been strained by Tehran’s treatment of Iranian-born Canadians who travelled to visit their homeland. Iran does not recognize dual nationality and authorities have denied Canadian detainees consular protection.

An Iranian opposition group, the National Council of the Iranian Resistance, based in Paris, welcomed Ottawa’s decision to sever ties with what the group’s president-elect called “the religious fascism ruling Iran.”

Tehran had exploited its diplomatic relations around the world “to justify suppression, crime, acquiring advanced technology, in particular nuclear technology, and (to) export terrorism,” said Maryam Rajavi.

Iran, which has been ruled by an Islamic theocracy since the 1979 uprising against the former Persian monarchy, is locked in a diplomatic stand-off with the West over its nuclear activities.

Tehran insists it has a right to enrich nuclear fuel to power civilian nuclear energy and research, but Washington, Israel and their allies claim it is seeking nuclear weapons capability.

In recent years, the stand-off has led Canada and the international community to implement a series of sanctions against Iran.

Israel, which has an undeclared nuclear weapons program of its own, has made it clear that it would launch military strikes sooner than see its main enemy in the Middle East attain such a goal.

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Iran’s leaders in return regularly issue threats to destroy Israel or to disrupt oil shipping in the Gulf. Tehran is also the main foreign backer of Assad’s regime in Damascus.

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