Canada Says Ambassador to Iran Expelled
By CHARMAINE NORONHA – 10 hours ago
TORONTO (AP) — Iran has ordered Canada's ambassador to leave the country, the Canadian foreign minister said late Monday, calling the move unjustifiable.
Foreign Affairs Minister Maxime Bernier suggested the expulsion of Ambassador John Mundy, who was recently appointed but has not yet had his credentials accepted, was a tit-for-tat move by the government in Tehran.
Canada and Iran have tried to come to an agreement on an exchange of ambassadors for some time.
"Unfortunately, we have as yet been unable to accept the candidates Tehran has submitted," Bernier said in a statement. "We believe that the expulsion of our ambassador is an unfortunate and unjustified consequence of this situation. As always, Canada remains prepared to receive an Iranian ambassador provided a suitable candidate is presented," he said.
The statement did not explain why the Iranian candidates had been unacceptable to Canada.
"Iran has been refusing to let our ambassador present his credentials and thereby fully assume his duties," Foreign Affairs spokesman Shaun Tinkler said. "They've decided to downgrade our relations."
Bernier said the Canadian Embassy in Iran will be now headed by the charge d'affaires, the No. 2 diplomat. Both countries will continue to maintain embassies in the respective capitals and conduct normal operations, the release said.
The diplomatic slap came one day after the Iranian charge d'affaires expressed frustration that his country's overtures to Canada were being ignored by the Canadian government.
Seyed Mahdi Mohebi said in an interview with The Canadian Press that he has twice asked for a resumption of high-level contacts up to the foreign minister level.
Relations between the two countries have been frosty since former Canadian ambassador Ken Taylor helped spirit Americans out of the U.S. Embassy in 1980 before they could be taken hostage shortly after the Iranian revolution.
Recently, Iran's supreme court ordered a review of the death of Zahra Kazemi, a Canadian photojournalist who died in custody after being arrested outside of a Tehran prison in 2003.
Authorities said she died after falling ill. Her son believes she was tortured and raped before being killed.
Mohebi said he hoped a resolution of the case would lead to a warming of relations.
Canada recalled its ambassador in 2003 to protest how Iran was dealing with the case.
"Iran hasn't measured up to our standards for full and normal partnership for some time given their human rights record, the Kazemi case, the nuclear issue," Tinkler said.
Iran is embroiled in a standoff with the West over its nuclear program. It has refused demands to halt uranium enrichment, a process that can be used to manufacture fuel for nuclear weapons.
