Ottawa faces the parallel problem of how to balance its need to remain close to its most important ally, the U.S., while refraining from adopting its hardline approach on the Iran nuclear deal and …
Canada and its Western allies have been thrust between “a rock and a hard place” in their relations with Iran, following revelations that an Iranian missile is believed to have shot down a Ukrainian aircraft near Tehran, killing all 176 passengers on board including 63 Canadians.
Canada and its Western allies now face the difficult task of balancing a need to take a “strong stance” on the matter while not aggravating an already tense Iranian regime, said Christian Leuprecht, a political science professor at the Royal Military College of Canada and Queen’s University in Kingston. The European Union has been criticized for its slow response to the crisis that ignited last week after a U.S. air strike on Iraq killed Iran’s top military commander Qassem Suleimani.
“If the allies are too harsh with Iran there is a risk they could abandon the deal altogether,” said Leuprecht. “At the same time Trump can point to this incident and say the Iranians can’t be trusted with any weapons. So these three powers really are between a rock and a hard place.” Canada too faces a difficult challenge in addressing the crisis.
With no diplomatic presence in Iran, Canada now finds itself without the ability “to send a signal by closing an embassy or pulling diplomats,” Leuprecht said.At the same time, Ottawa faces the parallel problem of how to balance its need to remain close to its most important ally, the U.S., while refraining from adopting its hardline approach on the Iran nuclear deal and sanctions.
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