Canada PoliticsCanadians support government’s decision to close Tehran embassy while other countries stay put
The Harper government's decision to close its Tehran embassy has the support of most Canadians.
According to a new Angus Reid poll released Wednesday, 72 per cent of those surveyed believe that suspending diplomatic ties with Iran was the right move.
The Tories announced the embassy closure in Tehran, along with the expulsion of Iranian diplomats in Canada, earlier this month citing a laundry list of beefs against the Ahmajinejad regime.
"Ever since the attack on the British embassy last year, I have been increasingly concerned about the safety of our diplomats," prime minister Harper told reporters.
"Whether it's [their] nuclear programs, support for Assad, its antisemitism, its support for terrorism...the risk to our diplomats just keeps going up so ever since last year we have been scaling down our presence."
[ Related: Iranian born professor says Canada's closure of Tehran embassy 'not the best course of action' ]
It's an explanation that Canadians are willing to accept. Angus Reid claims that 81 per cent of us have an "unfavourable view" of Iran, while 72 per cent believe that country's government is developing nuclear weapons.
It seems, however, other countries are not following Canada's lead.
According to Embassy Magazine, France, Belgium and Greece have no plans to shutter their Iranian bases.
"Each country has a different weight in the international scene," a spokesperson at the Greek embassy in Ottawa told Embassy.
"There is differences in the way [each] thinks about what is correct and what is not."
[ Related: Is Canada's closure of its Tehran embassy a precursor to an attack on Iran? ]
Meanwhile, according to CBC News, Italy announced Monday that its embassy will take on the task of protecting Canadian interests in Iran.
Who's not in Iran?
The United States and the United Kingdom are two major countries without functioning embassies in Iran. The U.S. hasn't had one since the 1979-81 hostage crisis and Britain's embassy was shuttered last November after it was stormed by protesters.
