Iran has added Canada to a list of countries that it accuses of meddling in its internal affairs and feeding unrest in the wake of the country's disputed presidential election.
The Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs called Canada's chargé d'affaires in Tehran to a meeting on Thursday, reportedly complaining that Canada has been spouting meddlesome comments and media coverage of the outcome of Friday's presidential election that showed President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad winning by a 2-to-1 margin.
All three of Ahmadinejad's challengers have alleged the results came out of vote rigging and and supporters from both sides have mounted massive daily rallies since Monday.
There were no immediate details regarding what was discussed at the meetings.
The Canadian Embassy in Tehran has not returned calls from CBC News.
'Intolerable' meddling
Officials with the Department of Foreign Affairs declined to comment on the meeting but said the chargé d'affaires is still in the country.
"We do not comment on the content of diplomatic meetings," said Natalie Sarafian, press secretary to Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon.
Sarafian added that Canada is continuing "to call for a fully transparent investigation into electoral discrepancies."
Diplomatic officials from several European countries — including the Swiss envoy who represents U.S. interests in Iran — have also been summoned by authorities this week to discuss diplomatic concerns.
Iran has accused the United States of "intolerable" meddling in its internal affairs — an allegation the White House has dismissed.
Crackdown online
Iran appears to be accusing countries of using official statements by government officials and websites to meddle in its internal affairs, said CBC News Washington correspondent Paul Hunter.
"Iran isn't being absolutely specific by what it means by all of that," Hunter said.
Cannon has denounced the "brutal treatment" of protesters while Prime Minister Stephen Harper has said Canada "finds the behaviour of the regime unacceptable in so many ways that I cannot even begin to name them."
Journalists working for foreign media have been restricted from first-hand reporting on the streets in an attempt to block images and eyewitness accounts from the rallies.
Iranians using social networking services such as Twitter, Facebook and text messaging services to get their message out seem to be a key point of contention for authorities, Hunter said.
On Wednesday Iranian authorities ordered any material that "creates tension" and encourages public disturbance and street riots be removed from Iranian websites and blogs.
The government has blocked certain websites, such as BBC Farsi, Facebook, Twitter, blogs and several sites supporting reformist leader Mir Hossein Mousavi that are being used by Iranians to release pictures, videos and accounts of the protests and violence occurring in the country.
Officials alleged many of the "deviant news sites" are being financed by American, British and Canadian companies and feeding the civil unrest.
Canadian officials have told Iran's chargé d'affaires in Ottawa that the government is concerned about the situation.
The Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs called Canada's chargé d'affaires in Tehran to a meeting on Thursday, reportedly complaining that Canada has been spouting meddlesome comments and media coverage of the outcome of Friday's presidential election that showed President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad winning by a 2-to-1 margin.
All three of Ahmadinejad's challengers have alleged the results came out of vote rigging and and supporters from both sides have mounted massive daily rallies since Monday.
There were no immediate details regarding what was discussed at the meetings.
The Canadian Embassy in Tehran has not returned calls from CBC News.
'Intolerable' meddling
Officials with the Department of Foreign Affairs declined to comment on the meeting but said the chargé d'affaires is still in the country.
"We do not comment on the content of diplomatic meetings," said Natalie Sarafian, press secretary to Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon.
Sarafian added that Canada is continuing "to call for a fully transparent investigation into electoral discrepancies."
Diplomatic officials from several European countries — including the Swiss envoy who represents U.S. interests in Iran — have also been summoned by authorities this week to discuss diplomatic concerns.
Iran has accused the United States of "intolerable" meddling in its internal affairs — an allegation the White House has dismissed.
Crackdown online
Iran appears to be accusing countries of using official statements by government officials and websites to meddle in its internal affairs, said CBC News Washington correspondent Paul Hunter.
"Iran isn't being absolutely specific by what it means by all of that," Hunter said.
Cannon has denounced the "brutal treatment" of protesters while Prime Minister Stephen Harper has said Canada "finds the behaviour of the regime unacceptable in so many ways that I cannot even begin to name them."
Journalists working for foreign media have been restricted from first-hand reporting on the streets in an attempt to block images and eyewitness accounts from the rallies.
Iranians using social networking services such as Twitter, Facebook and text messaging services to get their message out seem to be a key point of contention for authorities, Hunter said.
On Wednesday Iranian authorities ordered any material that "creates tension" and encourages public disturbance and street riots be removed from Iranian websites and blogs.
The government has blocked certain websites, such as BBC Farsi, Facebook, Twitter, blogs and several sites supporting reformist leader Mir Hossein Mousavi that are being used by Iranians to release pictures, videos and accounts of the protests and violence occurring in the country.
Officials alleged many of the "deviant news sites" are being financed by American, British and Canadian companies and feeding the civil unrest.
Canadian officials have told Iran's chargé d'affaires in Ottawa that the government is concerned about the situation.
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