Mark Carney backs U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran, doesn't expect Canada to get involved militarily

Carney said Canadian officials had discussed the possibility of a new war breaking out in recent weeks, as the U.S. moved a naval arsenal into the Middle East and pressured Iran to give up its uranium enrichment program. He called for the protection of “all civilians” but did not echo reactions from leaders in Europe who urged both sides to restrain themselves as Trump called for regime change amid a “major combat operation” against Iran.  

“It is a serious escalation,” Carney said. “In a serious conflict, you have to make choices.” 

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

Carney added that the “consequence” of that behaviour will now be decided by whether Iran de-escalates the conflict. 

“The threat of what has now been realized, in terms of military action, should have been clear to an Iranian regime which has refused to dismantle fully its nuclear program and continues to pose a serious threat to the region,” Carney said. 

“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 said, affirming also that Canada supports Israel’s right to defend itself against threats from Iran. 

Saturday’s violence is the latest flashpoint in a turbulent and deadly series of events for Iran. Last year, the U.S. dropped so-called “bunker-buster” bombs on Iran in an attempt to destroy underground facilities where Tehran was suspected to be developing nuclear weapons. Under heavy sanctions from Western countries, prices soared in Iran sparking mass protests against the regime late December. The Iranian government responded in a crackdown that reportedly killed thousands. 

Reza Pahlavi — the son of the last shah of Iran, who was deposed in the 1979 revolution — has positioned himself as a possible successor to power in Tehran. On Saturday, he described the new attacks on Iran as a “humanitarian intervention” and called on the Iranian people to “reclaim” and “rebuild” their country. 

The scale of the current attacks appeared broad, with Trump promising to “raze (Iran’s) missile industry to the ground” and to “annihilate their navy.”

As of 1:15 p.m. ET, Iranian state TV said the strikes across Iran had killed at least 201 people and injured 747 others, according to The Associated Press, with dozens at a girls’ school reported dead.

Meanwhile, Iran’s foreign minister told NBC News Saturday that the country’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and President Masoud Pezeshkian are alive “as far as I know,” calling the attack “unprovoked, illegal and absolutely illegitimate.”

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.

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

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

“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.”

Leaders from the European Union, meanwhile, urged “maximum restraint” from all sides to avoid further escalation of the erupting conflict. Some went further, with Norway’s foreign minister reportedly describing Saturday’s initial strikes on Iran by Israel as a breach of international law. 

Carney, however, said Canada’s support for the U.S. attack is consistent with the government’s opposition to the Iranian regime, which he condemned for having “one of the world’s worst human rights records.” He noted that Canada has long called on Iran to end its nuclear program, and listed the country’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps — a powerful branch of the Iranian military —  as a terrorist entity in 2024. 

In a statement online, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre echoed Carney in describing Iran as the prime source of terrorism in the Middle East, and pointed to the downing by missile of Flight PS752 from Tehran in 2020 that killed 176 people, including 55 Canadian citizens and 30 permanent residents. 

“Conservatives support a democratic, free and permanently-denuclearized Iran that lives in peace and security with its neighbours. And Conservatives support the United States, Israel, and our allies across the Gulf to defend their sovereignty and dismantle the clerical military dictatorship of Iran,” Poilievre said.  

Speaking shortly before the attacks on Saturday, 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. 

With files from The Associated Press