Canada Reiterates It Will Not Join US-Israel War Against Iran

The Canadian government has reaffirmed its position of not becoming involved in the military conflict between the United States and Israel against Iran. This statement was delivered directly by Canada’s Foreign Minister, Anita Anand.

In a virtual press conference from Turkey on Tuesday (17/3), she reiterated her country’s stance of not participating in those military operations.

“Canada was not consulted, Canada is not participating in the military operations, and Canada has no intention of becoming involved in offensive military operations,” she said during the virtual press conference from Turkey on Tuesday (17/3).

Anand also revealed that her side was unaware of any request from US President Donald Trump to NATO member countries to join the operations against Iran or to maintain freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz.

“To our knowledge, no such request has been made to NATO for that assistance. As a founding member, Canada remains committed to collective defence and deterrence,” said Anand.

She added that to date, there have been no discussions among NATO allies regarding mechanisms that could trigger joint action by the defence alliance.

When asked about communication with the US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, regarding efforts to keep the Strait of Hormuz open, Anand stated that there have been no talks since the start of the US military operations against Iran.

Previously, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney stated that his country supported the US and Israeli attacks on Iran with regret. He also mentioned that the possibility of Canada’s involvement in the conflict remains open.

This conflict began on 28 February when the US and Israel launched attacks on several targets in Iran, including the capital Tehran, causing damage and civilian casualties.

In retaliation, Iran launched attacks on Israel as well as several US military targets in the Middle East region.