Patrick Martin and Campbell Clark
Iranian Canadians rally in support of Ottawa’s decision to close its embassy in Iran.
(SEAN KILPATRICK/THE CANADIAN PRESS)
The Harper government – which makes no secret of its strong support for Israel – has come under severe criticism from many circles for its decision to shut the Canadian embassy in Iran. But Canadian diplomats who were on the ground in Tehran supported the move.
They had “known this was coming for a long time,” said a Canadian official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to comment.
“If Iran had been attacked [by Israel or the United States]” people in the mission knew they “would likely have been taken hostage,” the official said. And to every diplomat in the mission, he added, “the threat was very real.”
