The Weekly Standard, 14 August 2015 – President Obama claims, as Bill Kristol noted in his editorial in the latest issue of THE WEEKLY STANDARD, that no country in the world has expressed opposition to his deal with Iran, with the exception of Israel. But that’s not accurate. Canada, the United States’ biggest trading partner—and, traditionally, its closest ally—has made it clear it wants no part of an agreement normalizing relations between Iran and the West.
When details of the agreement were released last month, Canada’s foreign affairs minister, Rob Nicholson, had this to say:
Iran continues to be a significant threat to international peace and security owing to the regime’s nuclear ambitions, its continuing support for terrorism, its repeated calls for the destruction of Israel, and its disregard for basic human rights.
We will examine this deal further before taking any specific Canadian action.
That last sentence is not the typical contentless politician-speak; it contains real repercussions .Canada will not be lifting its sanctions against Iran—in stark contrast to the United States and Europe if the deal takes effect.