Foreign Affairs Minister Stephane Dion apologized Friday after he allegedly made a thumbs down gesture in the House of Commons during discussion of Alison Azer, whose four children were abducted by her ex-husband and taken to Iran 14 months ago.
Azer was watching Question Period from the public gallery on Thursday and says she felt “disrespected and dishonoured” after Dion gave two thumbs down while Conservative MP Michael Cooper was asking questions about her case.
WATCH: Alison Azer comments on Stephane Dion’s gesture in House of Commons
The gesture was not captured on camera.
Dion said the gesture was directed at Cooper who accused Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of doing nothing to bring Azer’s kids back to Canada. He claimed the Conservatives were trying to politicize a delicate diplomatic issue.
“I am sorry that some interpreted it to be directed at Madame Azer. It was obviously not the case,” Dion said Friday during Question Period. “I have nothing but compassion for Madame Azer and cannot imagine the anguish she must be going through. I am disappointed in how the Opposition is politicizing this heartbreaking situation.”
READ MORE: Saren Azer speaks out one year after allegedly abducting his children
In August 2015, a Canada-wide warrant was issued for Saren Azer, a Kurdish-Canadian doctor, after he failed to bring his four children home to his ex-wife in British Columbia after a court-sanctioned trip to Europe.
He is wanted by both the RCMP and Interpol on abduction charges,
Saren has said taking the children to Iran was in their best interest.
“They are doing great really, emotionally very healthy and have adjusted really well. They are not the children that they were a year ago,” Saren told Global News in an exclusive interview in August 2016.
WATCH: Trudeau responds to Alison Azer plea
Speaking to reporters in Toronto on Friday, Trudeau said the Harper government’s decision to cut diplomatic ties with Iran has complicated the issue.
“It would be significantly easier to engage in this situation if the previous government hadn’t made the decision for political and ideological reasons to close down our representatives in Iran,” Trudeau said during a press conference.
The Conservatives closed the Canadian embassy in Iran in 2012 and expelled Iranian diplomats from Canada.
*With files from Global News