Mark Carney urges restraint as Donald Trump uses threats to negotiate with Iran

Trump, who a day earlier said he would bomb Iran back into the “Stone Ages” and set an 8 p.m. Eastern time Tuesday deadline to target bridges and power plants, issued a more ominous message on Truth Social. In it, he said he had achieved “total regime change” in Iran, but demanded complete capitulation.

“A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again. I don’t want that to happen, but it probably will. However, now that we have complete and total regime change, where different, smarter, and less radicalized minds prevail, maybe something revolutionarily wonderful can happen, WHO KNOWS?” Trump wrote.

Just over an hour before his 8 p.m. deadline, Trump announced he was pulling back from his threats of widespread strikes, subject to Iran agreeing to a two-week ceasefire and to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Iran’s Supreme National Security Council said it had accepted a two-week ceasefire in the war.

“Canada expects all parties in this conflict, in any conflict, to respect international laws, the rules of engagement,” said Carney on Tuesday. “And that means not targeting certainly civilians, or civilian infrastructure, and we urge all parties in this war to follow those responsibilities. It’s a point we’ve made publicly and privately.”

The Canadian prime minister added that there are “some negotiations going on, and that there is often a gap between what’s said publicly and what’s happening privately. We are not at the centre of those negotiations, although we have some visibility to them.”

Carney did not appear optimistic.

“However they unfold in the coming hours, in the coming days, the coming weeks, those negotiations, those discussions, those movements, as it must, towards a cessation of hostilities and a re-establishment of security and peace in the region, those international responsibilities, those humanitarian responsibilities, remain for all parties throughout that period.”

Carney most recently spoke to Trump on April 1, after the Artemis moon-orbit mission launched with a Canadian astronaut aboard. According to the readout from the Prime Minister’s Office, they discussed at that time “the value of co-operation in space, and developments in the Middle East conflict. They agreed to remain in close contact.”

There is no evidence that Trump has requested any specific defence support from Canada for reopening the Strait of Hormuz where oil and gas shipments have all but halted, although Carney has not ruled out assistance to help ease the blow to the global economy.

But on Monday, Trump railed against NATO and other U.S. allies for failing to support his war in the Middle East. He condemned delayed or inadequate support from Germany, the U.K., the NATO alliance as a whole, and other non-NATO American allies like South Korea, Australia and Japan. He did not mention Canada.

The Canadian prime minister was asked whether he regrets his initial support for the U.S.-and Israeli-led military war on Iran. Carney did not back down, saying Canada’s position supports efforts to end Iran’s state-sponsored terrorism and “the nuclear ambitions of Iran. That remains the case. It has always been the case, though, that Canada makes a distinction, a fundamental distinction as others do, between those objectives and obligations under international law and humanity and the respect for human rights, which would be inconsistent.”

Carney said he shares a sentiment expressed by French President Emmanuel Macron, when asked whether Trump speaks too much.

“This is a very serious situation … and what is at stake is the lives of civilian people. And what is at stake is whether we are at war or whether we have peace. So we need to be very careful in using, in choosing the words we use.” 

Speaking Tuesday in Brampton at an announcement of federal spending on community centres, hospitals, bridges, and highways, Carney said his government remains focused on an agenda to build better local infrastructure.

Some Canadian politicians criticized Carney’s refusal to specifically address Trump’s rhetoric.

“Our ally is threatening genocide. At Davos, our prime minister promised principled consistency. Where’s Canada’s condemnation?” NDP MP and former interim leader Don Davies posted on X.

Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet called on Carney to summon U.S. ambassador Pete Hoekstra to inform him Canada “will not condone any words or actions of such violence against civilians.”

With files from The Canadian Press.