by Jeff Davis
One of Iran's 10 vice-presidents made a highly unusual visit to Ottawa last week, hinting that Tehran desires warmer relations with Canada while bearing stinging criticisms over its mission in Afghanistan.
"The military presence of Canada in Afghanistan, in a general view, has never guaranteed security in the region," Vice-President Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei told reporters through a translator on Thursday.
"Not only have they not guaranteed the security, but also it has created more crisis and more difficulties."
Mr. Mashaei, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's cultural heritage chief, said he was in Canada to meet with members of the Iranian diaspora, and did not have any official meetings with Canadian officials.
He said Canada's reputation in the Middle East and Central Asia is being damaged due to its military partnership with the United States.
"We believe the presence of Canada in Afghanistan is under the umbrella of United States," he said. "That Canada has a military presence in Afghanistan has a very negative impact and effect in the public opinion of hundreds of millions of people in the region."
Mr. Mashaei said people in the region do not understand why Canada is in Afghanistan, and he questioned the broader strategic coherence of the mission.
"It's a good news that Canada is leaving in 2011, and we welcome that, but three questions that still remain unanswered," he said. "Why did they come to Afghanistan? What have they done in Afghanistan? Why and under what condition are they leaving Afghanistan? These questions remain unanswered."
At the same time, the vice-president said his country could help NATO in Afghanistan, though he refused to explain exactly what kind of assistance Iran could provide.
"Iran can co-operate and help," he said. "If they are intending to secure Afghanistan, then the role of Iran will manifest and be stronger and will be there."
It appears that Iran could play a more substantive role in the multilateral effort in Afghanistan soon, as U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has extended an invitation to Iran to attend a high-level multilateral conference on Afghanistan on March 31.
So far Iran has been noncommittal.
Roland Paris, director of the Centre for International Policy Studies at Ottawa University, said Iran has been emitting murky signals as it adjusts its diplomatic strategy to a new American administration.
"I think the Iranians and Russians alike have been sending very mixed messages since the election of Barack Obama," he said.
"Iran is sending simultaneous mixed signals of openness to international engagement and openness to the new Obama administration, but at the same time continuing to take a hard line on its nuclear policies and on the region."
Mr. Paris said Shia Iran, which has been historically hostile to the Sunni Taliban, was very happy to see the Taliban ousted and was "very helpful" following the invasion of Afghanistan in such fora as the 2001 Bonn Conference. This co-operation stopped when the U.S. invaded Iraq and slapped Iran with an "axis of evil label," he said.
At the same time, there continue to be reports that entities within Iran are supplying weapons to the Taliban, raising questions about its real agenda.
Bilat Relations Still Frosty
During his press conference, Mr. Mashaei said Iran is "always welcoming to develop diplomatic relations with Canada."
However, the two countries have a ways to go before relations are normalized.
Canada and Iran established diplomatic relations in 1996, but stopped exchanging ambassadors in 2007 after the embarrassing mutual rejection of several proposed envoys.
By then, relations cooled considerably following allegations that Iran was building a nuclear weapons program, the murder under torture of Iranian-Canadian photographer Zahra Kazemi in 2003 by regime officials, and Canada's criticism of Iranian human rights issues at the UN.
Since 2005, DFAIT's website explains, bilateral relations have been governed according to a so-called Controlled Engagement Policy, which severely restricts the content of diplomatic exchanges.
"Official contacts between Canada and the Islamic Republic of Iran are now limited to four subjects: 1—the human rights situation in Iran, 2—Iran's nuclear program and its lack of respect for its non-proliferation obligations, 3—the case of Mrs. Zahra Kazemi who was killed in an Iranian prison by regime officials in 2003, and 4—Iran's role in the region," the site reads.
Mr. Mashaei said it was "unfortunate" that Canada and Iran currently do not exchange ambassadors, and said Iran has an ambassador ready to come to Canada.
He added that Iran has "indicated its favour" towards Canada in recent months by increasing consular co-operation with staff at the Canadian Embassy in Teheran.
But while Iran appears to be making timid overtures, Prime Minister Stephen Harper has not held back from inflammatory statements on Iran.
Last month, during a meeting with the editorial board of the Wall Street Journal, Mr. Harper called Iran "evil" while at the same time pledging continued support for Israel.
"It concerns me that we have a regime [in Tehran] with...an ideology that is obviously evil," he told the Journal. "My government is a very strong supporter of the state of Israel and considers the Iranian threats to be absolutely unacceptable and beyond the pale."
Thursday, after Embassy informed Mr. Mashaei of these comments, the Iranian fired back.
"Unfortunately I haven't heard that statement made by the Honourable Stephen Harper," he said. "But whoever makes such a statement anywhere in this world, of course, has no understanding of Iran whatsoever. This is a huge weakness of the person who created that statement.... I would like not to believe this statement has been made."
jdavis@embassymag.ca
One of Iran's 10 vice-presidents made a highly unusual visit to Ottawa last week, hinting that Tehran desires warmer relations with Canada while bearing stinging criticisms over its mission in Afghanistan.
"The military presence of Canada in Afghanistan, in a general view, has never guaranteed security in the region," Vice-President Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei told reporters through a translator on Thursday.
"Not only have they not guaranteed the security, but also it has created more crisis and more difficulties."
Mr. Mashaei, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's cultural heritage chief, said he was in Canada to meet with members of the Iranian diaspora, and did not have any official meetings with Canadian officials.
He said Canada's reputation in the Middle East and Central Asia is being damaged due to its military partnership with the United States.
"We believe the presence of Canada in Afghanistan is under the umbrella of United States," he said. "That Canada has a military presence in Afghanistan has a very negative impact and effect in the public opinion of hundreds of millions of people in the region."
Mr. Mashaei said people in the region do not understand why Canada is in Afghanistan, and he questioned the broader strategic coherence of the mission.
"It's a good news that Canada is leaving in 2011, and we welcome that, but three questions that still remain unanswered," he said. "Why did they come to Afghanistan? What have they done in Afghanistan? Why and under what condition are they leaving Afghanistan? These questions remain unanswered."
At the same time, the vice-president said his country could help NATO in Afghanistan, though he refused to explain exactly what kind of assistance Iran could provide.
"Iran can co-operate and help," he said. "If they are intending to secure Afghanistan, then the role of Iran will manifest and be stronger and will be there."
It appears that Iran could play a more substantive role in the multilateral effort in Afghanistan soon, as U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has extended an invitation to Iran to attend a high-level multilateral conference on Afghanistan on March 31.
So far Iran has been noncommittal.
Roland Paris, director of the Centre for International Policy Studies at Ottawa University, said Iran has been emitting murky signals as it adjusts its diplomatic strategy to a new American administration.
"I think the Iranians and Russians alike have been sending very mixed messages since the election of Barack Obama," he said.
"Iran is sending simultaneous mixed signals of openness to international engagement and openness to the new Obama administration, but at the same time continuing to take a hard line on its nuclear policies and on the region."
Mr. Paris said Shia Iran, which has been historically hostile to the Sunni Taliban, was very happy to see the Taliban ousted and was "very helpful" following the invasion of Afghanistan in such fora as the 2001 Bonn Conference. This co-operation stopped when the U.S. invaded Iraq and slapped Iran with an "axis of evil label," he said.
At the same time, there continue to be reports that entities within Iran are supplying weapons to the Taliban, raising questions about its real agenda.
Bilat Relations Still Frosty
During his press conference, Mr. Mashaei said Iran is "always welcoming to develop diplomatic relations with Canada."
However, the two countries have a ways to go before relations are normalized.
Canada and Iran established diplomatic relations in 1996, but stopped exchanging ambassadors in 2007 after the embarrassing mutual rejection of several proposed envoys.
By then, relations cooled considerably following allegations that Iran was building a nuclear weapons program, the murder under torture of Iranian-Canadian photographer Zahra Kazemi in 2003 by regime officials, and Canada's criticism of Iranian human rights issues at the UN.
Since 2005, DFAIT's website explains, bilateral relations have been governed according to a so-called Controlled Engagement Policy, which severely restricts the content of diplomatic exchanges.
"Official contacts between Canada and the Islamic Republic of Iran are now limited to four subjects: 1—the human rights situation in Iran, 2—Iran's nuclear program and its lack of respect for its non-proliferation obligations, 3—the case of Mrs. Zahra Kazemi who was killed in an Iranian prison by regime officials in 2003, and 4—Iran's role in the region," the site reads.
Mr. Mashaei said it was "unfortunate" that Canada and Iran currently do not exchange ambassadors, and said Iran has an ambassador ready to come to Canada.
He added that Iran has "indicated its favour" towards Canada in recent months by increasing consular co-operation with staff at the Canadian Embassy in Teheran.
But while Iran appears to be making timid overtures, Prime Minister Stephen Harper has not held back from inflammatory statements on Iran.
Last month, during a meeting with the editorial board of the Wall Street Journal, Mr. Harper called Iran "evil" while at the same time pledging continued support for Israel.
"It concerns me that we have a regime [in Tehran] with...an ideology that is obviously evil," he told the Journal. "My government is a very strong supporter of the state of Israel and considers the Iranian threats to be absolutely unacceptable and beyond the pale."
Thursday, after Embassy informed Mr. Mashaei of these comments, the Iranian fired back.
"Unfortunately I haven't heard that statement made by the Honourable Stephen Harper," he said. "But whoever makes such a statement anywhere in this world, of course, has no understanding of Iran whatsoever. This is a huge weakness of the person who created that statement.... I would like not to believe this statement has been made."
jdavis@embassymag.ca
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