Prime Minister Mark Carney said Canada welcomes the ceasefire between Israel and Iran, noting that it should lead to broader de-escalation in the region.
The ceasefire was first announced by U.S. President Donald Trump on June 23. The truce has been fragile, with Trump saying on the morning of June 24 he was trying to reign-in Israel.
The ceasefire announcement came after the U.S. bombed three Iranian nuclear facilities over the weekend. Iran retaliated on June 23 by firing missiles at the U.S. military base in Qatar. The attack was expected, missiles were intercepted, and no injuries were sustained, according to U.S. and Qatari officials.
“That resolution should lead to a broader de-escalation of hostilities in the Middle East, including a ceasefire in Gaza,” the prime minister added. Israel has been conducting military operations in the Gaza Strip since terrorist group Hamas attacked Israel in October 2023.
Canadian and American policy on Gaza is not entirely in-sync, with Canada being more critical toward Israel at times than the United States, but on Iran the countries have been more closely aligned.
Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand said after the U.S. attacks that Iran’s nuclear program has been a source of “grave instability” in the region and that Washington was attempting to “alleviate the threat.”
Carney declined to say whether he believes the U.S. attacks on Iran were in line with international law. NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte said on June 23 the attacks had not violated international law.
Carney said Iran has been pursuing nuclear weapons and has a stated goal of destroying Israel. He added that Canada considers Iran a state sponsor of terror.
Ceasefire
The ceasefire between Israel and Iran has been fragile. Shortly before it was to take effect, Iranian missiles landed in the Israeli city of Beersheba, killing four. After it took effect, Israel accused Iran of violating the ceasefire and the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it would “respond with force.”Trump criticized Israel and Iran before leaving for the NATO Summit in The Hague on the morning of June 24, saying they broke the ceasefire he had announced the previous day.
“I’m not happy that Israel is going out now,” Trump said about Israel sending planes to retaliate. “There was one rocket that I guess was fired overboard, and it was after the time limit, and it missed its target, and now Israel’s going out.”
“These guys got to calm down,” he added.
“They couldn’t reign people back. I don’t like the fact that Israel went out this morning at all, and I’m going to see if I can stop it,” Trump said.
The president also expressed displeasure about actions Israel had taken after Trump had announced the ceasefire was set to come into force hours later.
“As soon as we made the deal, they came out and they dropped a load of bombs, the likes of which I’ve never seen before, the biggest load that we’ve seen. I’m not happy with Israel,” he said.
“We basically have two countries that have been fighting so long and so hard that they don’t know what the [expletive] they’re doing.”
Nuclear Program
Washington was in talks with Iran on the nuclear issue before Israel launched its attack on Iran on June 13, targeting its military leadership and nuclear program. Trump said he had given Iran 60 days to make a deal.The June 22 U.S. strikes on Iran targeted the nuclear sites of Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan, with ordnance fired from the air and sea. B-2 Spirit bombers delivered 30,000 pound bunker-buster bombs on Natanz and Fordow, and a submarine fired Tomahawk missiles at Natanz and Isfahan.
