Carney's statement on war against Iran
Here is the full text of PM Carney’s statement on the US war against Iran, posted to social media:
“The Canadian government is closely following Iran-related hostilities throughout the Middle East and urges all Canadians in Iran to shelter in place. Canadians in the wider region should follow local advice and take all necessary precautions.
Canada’s position remains clear: the Islamic Republic of Iran is the principle source of instability and terror throughout the Middle East, has one of the world’s worst human rights records, and must never be allowed to obtain or develop nuclear weapons.
Canada and our international partners have consistently called upon the Iranian regime to end its nuclear program, including at the 2025 G7 leaders’ summit in Kananaskis and with the United Nations’ reimposition of sanctions in September.
Despite diplomatic efforts, Iran has neither fully dismantled its nuclear program, halted all enrichment activities, nor ended its support for regional terrorist proxy groups. Canada stands with the Iranian people in their long and courageous struggle against Iran’s oppressive regime. Canada has listed the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist group and has sanctioned 256 Iranian entities and 222 individuals in response to the regime’s repression and violence both against its own people, and persistently, beyond its borders. Canada reaffirms Israel’s right to defend itself and to ensure the security of its people.
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.
The Canadian government urges the protection of all civilians in this conflict. We will take all possible measures to protect our nationals and Canadian diplomatic missions throughout the region.”
Some quick editorial comments.
All of this is mostly fine, minus the paragraph of support for the United States. The stated purposes of that support, at their high level of generality, do not encompass the totality of US war aims as Trump himself has outlined them. But now we are now stuck with full support.
No one would argue with the position, fully established in international law, that Israel has the right to defend itself. Is that what we think Israel is doing in joining this US war against Iran?
One last point. When faced with a war, call it a war, not “Iran-related hostilities.”
Carney's statement was a disgrace. This is clearly not an operation designed to eliminate an imminent nuclear threat. There is no imminent threat, nor even one on the near horizon. The Obama administration took an Iranian bomb off the table with an agreement that Trump I immediately scuppered. Trump 2 'negotiated' in bad faith while preparing his war armada. What about the utter hypocrisy of a joint US-Israeli assault to target a non-existent Iranian nuclear threat when Israel is the sole Middle Eastern power with its own nuclear arsenal?
This is a war to force regime change. Full stop. Illegal, unprovoked, and unsanctioned by the US Congress. A war to divert Americans' attention from the catastrophic debacle of Trump's insane tariff war, and from his fascist subversion of the American Constitution. A war to divert attention from Netanyahu's genocidal destruction of Gaza.
In 2003 Chretien's Canada refused to be sucked into Bush and Blair's bloody assault on Iraq based on the lie of weapons of mass destruction. In 2026, Carney's Canada offers its support for this year's reprise of the biggest Middle Eastern debacle of the 21st century.
The US installed the puppet Shah in Iran in 1953 after deposing the properly elected Iranian President. The Shah was a tyrant. Yet his compliant regime ensured that the US and British oil barons could access Iranian oil, as far as I know. (Please correct me if I am wrong.)
This theocracy is worse than the Shah.
Yet do we think this war is entirely about the mullahs? For myself, I have doubts. Given Trump's oil obsession (see Venezuela), I expect this war is about oil and Trump's desire/the desire of the oil oligarchs backing his administration to enrich themselves.
Note that this war is not a legal war since the US Congress did not approve it.
Sadly, this illegality does not seem to matter to the US armed forces.
https://snyder.substack.com/p/why-attack-iran
Please read what Timothy Snyder wrote today. 2 reasons for the war: 1. so authoritarian Trump can subvert US democracy, and 2. to enrich the President.