Canada Breaks Ties With Iran

Because I missed the previous two weeks due to increased duties at work (and the weekend-long black hole that was Star Wars Celebration VI), I will be putting up a triple-header tonight and throughout this week to get back on schedule. With that bit of housekeeping out of the way, let's begin.

Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird shocked the diplomatic world when he announced that Canada was officially closing its embassy in Tehran. The reasons range from Iran's support for the mass-murder in Syria to its nuclear weapons program. Reaction to the news has been mixed. The Israelis, of course, loved the show of support (however indirect). Meanwhile, a number of former ambassadors for Canada have been highly critical of shutting down Canada's "window" into a highly unstable region. The Iranians, meanwhile, have shown that they are masters of irony by declaring the "extremist government" of Prime Minister Stephen Harper to be engaged in a "radical foreign policy." Of course, the Iranians have also accused the Israelis as the masterminds of the move, encouraging Harper's government to put the interests of Jews ahead of those of Canadians (because everybody knows how vital the Canadian-Iranian relationship has been).

So, as many have asked, why evacuate embassy personnel now? Baird told reports that the primary reason for the move was to protect the diplomatic staff. That begs the question of what type of threat has the Canadian government spooked. It would not be the first time that an embassy in Tehran has experienced trouble. Last November a horde of protesters stormed the British Embassy, destroying government property and holding seven members of the diplomatic staff hostage until their uneventful release a short time later. And, of course, there was the siege of the American embassy in 1979 that saw over fifty Americans held captive for 444 days. But there have been no apparent threats of such actions against the Canadian embassy. Some regional experts, such as University of Toronto professor Ramin Jahanbegloo (winner of U of T's prestigious "coolest name" award) believe that the evacuation was a preemptive move to protect Canadian diplomats in the event of an Israeli strike against the Iranian nuclear program. If (at this point, it's more like when) the Israeli's strike, any country that has shown significant support will be targeted by Islamic terrorists with ties to Tehran. Hassan Nasrallah, the chief of Hezbollah, has threatened that the United States will be targeted whether it assists the Israelis strike Iran or not, in essence playing a game of political chicken that could very well blow up in his face (though, as a terrorist, it's a hazard of the job). The Canadians are in the same boat, and Prime Minister Harper's government is taking precautions to mitigate the hazards. Meanwhile, in Washington, President Obama is spending his time coming up with a story to either take credit for a successful Israeli strike or place the blame for a failed attack on the Republicans. When he's not golfing, that is. That man loves his golf.

In an unrelated (but shockingly upbeat) story out of Iran, Iranian pastor Yousef Nadarkhani has been released from prison. For those of you who have not been following the story, Nadarkhani was arrested and sentenced to death for apostasy. His case sparked international outrage. It is unknown how influential the outcry was in the decision to release the pastor, but it certainly didn't hurt. While this is truly great news, there are still many Christians and others (including Muslims) who continue to languish in jails in Iran and other Muslim-majority countries like Saudi Arabia for the ambiguous crime of "apostasy." But Nadarkhani's release is a step in the right direction. One down, hundreds more to go.