Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand won’t say whether or not Canada sees U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran as a violation of international law.
The minister faced repeated questions on the conflict while collaborating in a media scrum in Latest Delhi, filling in for Prime Minister Mark Carney who abruptly cancelled his scheduled meeting with reporters.
America and Israel launched a serious attack on Iran Saturday that killed the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iranian officials have said greater than 150 people, including children, died after a reported missile strike hit a faculty in southern Iran.
The UN education agency, UNESCO, called the bombing on the college a “grave violation of humanitarian law.”
Anand said Canada was not involved in any operations and had no advance notification. She also repeated Prime Minister Mark Carney’s assertion that Canada won’t take part in any military motion.
The minister added that Canada would love to see a diplomatic solution when that’s possible.
Canadian Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne, right, and Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand, second left, seek advice from Indian ministers and officials as they wait for the signing of agreement and memorandum of understanding ceremony in Latest Delhi, India, Monday, March 2, 2026.
(AP Photo/Manish Swarup)
“We prefer a diplomatic solution. Because of this I actually have spent the last two days speaking with my counterparts across the Middle East and within the Gulf states, from Jordan, to Qatar, to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, to (United Arab Emirates) and all of my G7 counterparts stressing that Canada believes in a diplomatic and peaceful solution, and as soon as possible, we would love parties to get to the table,” Anand said.
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“The conversations that I’ve had in that vein have yielded differing responses. Some countries consider that a diplomatic solution will not be possible presently. Others wish to work as quickly as possible to make sure diplomacy becomes the subsequent phase of this horrific situation.”
Carney and Anand issued a joint statement Saturday saying that Canada supports the U.S. “acting to stop” Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon and stopping the Iranian regime from “threatening international peace and security.”
Canada and Iran haven’t had formal diplomatic relations since 2012 and Canada has listed the Iranian government as a state sponsor of terrorism.
Anand said that Canada will proceed to face by the Iranian people, noting the federal government has issued about 500 sanctions linked to the Iranian regime.
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