September 06, 2019
The Iranian Foreign Ministry says the Canadian government, by refusing to allow Iran to have a consulate in Canada, has taken hostage the welfare of all the 400,000 Iranians living in Canada.
Speaking to the Iranian Students News Agency (ISNA) August 24, Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Musavi said recent remarks about a resumption of consular ties by Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland are “paradoxical, sort of dodging responsibilities, and unacceptable.”
He said Iran’s efforts over the past seven years to resume consular relations with Canada have failed, with the result that Iranians living in Canada cannot receive consular services in their own country of residence.
In response to a query from the Iran Times, Global Affairs Canada, the new name of the Canadian Foreign Ministry, said, “There has been no change in Canada’s position on Iran. As we have said in the past, until Maryam Mombeini is able to return to Canada, the only focus of any discussion between the governments of Canada and Iran is on ensuring Mrs. Mombeini is able to return home.”
Mombeini’s family members are all dual nationals of Canada and Iran. Mombeini’s husband was arrested in January 2018, charged with espionage and died mysteriously in Evin Prison. Their sons were allowed to leave Iran for Canada, but Mombeini has been forbidden to leave the country.
In 2012, the previous Conservative government of Canada abruptly severed diplomatic relations with Iran, shuttering its embassy in Tehran and expelling Iranian diplomats from Canada.
The current Liberal government campaigned in 2015 on re-establishing diplomatic relations with Iran, but nothing has happened.
While the United States has not had diplomatic relations with Iran since 1980, it does allow Iran to operate an “interests section” in Washington, DC, that provides consular services to Iranians living in the United States—and in recent years to Iranians living in Canada as well.