Mark Carney backs U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran, calls for civilians to be protected

Condemning Iran’s Islamic regime, Carney said Tehran is the “principle source of instability and terror” in the region, and alleged the country has failed to dismantle its nuclear program or stop supporting “terrorist proxy groups” in the Middle East. 

“Canada supports the United States acting to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon and to prevent its regime from further threatening international peace and security,” Carney’s statement said. 

The conflict broke out Saturday while the prime minister was in Mumbai, where he is trying to reset Canada’s relations and deepen trade with India. 

In a video posted online, U.S. President Donald Trump said his country launched “major combat operations in Iran” and linked the strikes to the Tehran government’s nuclear program and alleged efforts to build long-range missiles that threaten Europe and could be capable of reaching North America.

“Our objective is to defend the American people by eliminating imminent threats from the Iranian regime,” Trump said, blaming the Islamic revolutionary government installed in 1979 for supporting terrorist groups and menacing other countries for decades.

“We’re going to destroy their missiles and raze their missile industry to the ground… We’re going to annihilate their navy. We’re going to ensure that the region’s terrorist proxies can no longer destabilize the region or the world and attack our forces.”

Forty people were reported killed at a girls’ school in southern Iran in the Israeli-U.S. strikes, according to Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency.

Trump called on Iranians to seize the chance to topple the Islamic regime that took power in a 1979 revolution.

“Don’t leave your home. It’s very dangerous outside. Bombs will be dropping everywhere. When we are finished, take over your government. This will be probably your only chance for generations.”

Iran quickly retaliated with strikes of its own, with the country’s Revolutionary Guard saying it was aiming for U.S. military bases in Bahrain, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, as well as military targets in Israel. The country’s National Security Council said in a statement that this was the start of a “decisive response to these hostile acts” by the U.S. and Israel.

State media in the U.A.E. reported that shrapnel from an Iranian missile killed one person, while four people were also killed by an Iranian missile striking a building in southern Syria, according to local state television.

Syria has closed its airspace and flights were suspended in countries across the Middle East.

Leaders from the European Union, meanwhile, urged “maximum restraint” from all sides to avoid further escalation of the erupting conflict. 

Speaking shortly before the attacks on Saturday, Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand told reporters in Mumbai that Canada’s priority is to find a “negotiated solution” to the tensions over Iran’s nuclear program.

In recent discussions with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and others, Anand said she voiced Canada’s position that it wants to avoid a conflict. 

”I stressed that Canada always seeks a negotiated solution at the table, and that our concern for international law and international human rights will always be at the forefront of our foreign policy,” she said. 

She also urged Canadians in Israel, Palestine and Lebanon to consider leaving while commercial options are available. She added that any Canadian in Iran should get out if it’s possible to do so safely.

With files from The Associated Press