Netanyahu pleased with Freeland on Iran, as she offers ‘ironclad’ support
OTTAWA — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is pleased Canada won’t be rushing to restore diplomatic ties with Iran as Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland affirmed Canada’s “ironclad” support for the Jewish state.
Freeland said Thursday her two-hour meeting with Netanyahu a day earlier touched on a wide range of pressing global issues, including Canada’s own strained relationship with Iran, a country that Israel views as an existential threat.
The Liberal government pledged during the 2015 federal election to re-establish diplomatic relations with Iran, but Freeland made clear that isn’t going to happen unless the regime allows Maryam Mombeini, an Iranian-Canadian dual citizen, to leave the country.
The Iranian government has denied Mombeini permission to travel after her husband, an environmentalist and university professor, died in a Tehran prison while being held on espionage accusations.