OTTAWA – Canada’s foreign affairs minister is warning Canadians in Iran to keep a “low profile” after what he called an “outrageous” attack on the British embassy on Tuesday.
Hardline Iranian students stormed British diplomatic sites in Tehran, bringing down the Union Jack flag, burning a vehicle and throwing documents from windows.
The mob surged passed riot police, storming into the embassy a week after Britain supported stronger Western sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program.
Canada and the United States also supported the sanctions.
“We find it completely unacceptable and outrageous not just that the embassy would be stormed, damaged, but people detained for a number of hours,” said Minister of Foreign Affairs John Baird.
Baird said the scenes were reminiscent of the 1979 seizure of a U.S. diplomatic compound.
“This is outrageous,” he said, adding that the government would be speaking to the Iranian charge d’affaires in Ottawa.
Baird said his department is not immediately pulling out diplomats but would evaluate the situation going forward. He did have a warning for Canadians in the country.
“Canadians there should exercise heightened vigilance and keep a low profile,” he said.
Police regained control of the site after two hours, but many are raising questions about whether the Iranian government actually sanctioned the protests.
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The government has been able to contain massive civil uprising in the past including the 2009 so-called Green Revolution.
Baird said he needs to look at the facts before coming to a conclusion about the regime’s involvement in the protest.
Along with the embassy, a residential complex for staff was also invaded and the British flags replaced with Iranian ones.
The British Foreign Office has harshly denounced the melee and said Iran has a “clear duty” under international law to protect diplomats and offices.
Aurel Braun, an expert in Middle Eastern politics at the University of Toronto, is not so reserved in his assessment.
“This is a controlling government. Students don’t just get to go on a rampage and the authorities are victimized by this. This is something that was clearly allowed by the Iranian regime,” he said.
If the regime did permit the mobbing, it is a violation of international law under the Vienna Convention. The international treaty provides the framework for diplomacy and sets the rules to ensure diplomats can act without “fear of coercion or harassment.”
Some of the key provisions include the protection of the premises from unauthorized intrusion, free communication between the mission and its home country, protection of the person for diplomats and diplomatic immunity.
Braun said that Tuesday’s violence should be a warning shot to all countries, including Canada.
“Everybody is in danger,” he said. “If you can attack one embassy with impunity, you can attack any embassy with impunity.”
He said if Iran is intent on becoming an “international outlaw” Canada should treat it as such by withdrawing diplomatic personnel and completely isolating Iran.
Along with the embassy, a residential complex for staff was also invaded and the British flags replaced with Iranian ones. There were also reports of six hostages being taken and later released.
The British Foreign Office has harshly denounced the melee and said Iran has a “clear duty” under international law to protect diplomats and offices.
The response was the same from Washington, which broke off diplomatic relations with Iran during the embassy siege of 1979-80. The siege held 52 hostages for 444 days.
With files from The Associated Press
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