OTTAWA/EDMONTON, Alberta - The Canadian government, under pressure at home to be tougher on Iran over intelligence reports it shot down a passenger jet, on Friday reiterated calls for a full probe into the disaster and warned Tehran that “the world is watching”.
Friends and families of some of the Canadians killed when a Ukrainian airliner crashed outside Tehran are demanding Prime Minister Justin Trudeau take a harder stance after accusing Iran of downing the plane, albeit probably by mistake. Iran denies the charge.
“Time will tell and the world is watching,” said Foreign Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne when asked whether Iran was conducting its probe into what happened in good faith.
Relations between Trudeau and U.S. President Donald Trump are formal at best, with Trudeau last month caught on camera joking about Trump, and the president calling him “two-faced”.
Trudeau has few ways to punish Iran in the short term. Bilateral trade - already limited by sanctions related to Iran’s nuclear program - totaled just over C$200 million in 2018.
Trudeau was due to meet privately with family members of the victims in Toronto on Friday. (Reuters)