Iran Expels Canadian Ambassador to Tehran

Iran has expelled the Canadian ambassador to Tehran after Ottawa refused to accept Iran’s proposed envoys to Canada. Canada’s Foreign Affairs Minister Maxime Bernier said Monday the decision to oust the ambassador was entirely unjustifiable. Bernier said Canada and Iran had tried to agree on an exchange of ambassadors, but Ottawa has been unable to accept the candidates submitted by Tehran.

Neither side offered any explanation for the disagreement.

Relations between Canada and Iran have been strained since 2003 when Iranian-Canadian photographer Zahra Kazemi died of injuries she received in Iranian custody after she was arrested for taking pictures of protesters at an Iranian prison.

Bernier said both countries will continue to maintain embassies in their respective capitals. He said Canada’s diplomatic business in Tehran will now be handled by the embassy’s charge d’affairs.

by VOA News

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