Is There an Israeli War that Ottawa Won’t Support?
On June 13, Israel launched an illegal and unprovoked attack against Iran, targeting government facilities, officials, and civilian areas. Israel’s justification is an old and repeatedly disproven one: that Iran is developing a nuclear weapon with the intention of destroying Israel and even the wider Western world.
If one believes mainstream media and politicians in the West, Iran has been on the verge of acquiring nuclear weapons for over four decades. In 1984, Jane’s Defence Weekly reported that Iran was in “the final stages” of obtaining nukes, “likely to be ready within two years.” That year, US Senator Alan Cranston claimed that Iran would obtain a nuclear weapon by 1991. The Christian Science Monitor compiled subsequent “warnings” about Iran’s nuclear program:
- 1992: Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres told French media that Iran would have nuclear warheads by 1999.
- 1995: Then-parliamentarian Benjamin Netanyahu claimed that Iran was 3 to 5 years away from producing a nuclear weapon.
- 1995: The New York Times reported that US and Israeli officials believed Iran was “about five years away” from obtaining nukes.
The accusations continued over the next decade, but despite constant US and Israeli fearmongering, Iran did not attain nuclear weapons. Indeed, in 2003, Iran’s leader Ali Khamenei issued a religious fatwa forbidding the production of nuclear weapons. Six years later, the US Foreign Relations Committee reported, “There is no sign that Iran’s leaders have ordered up a bomb.”
Tulsi Gabbard vs Donald Trump
Shortly before Israel’s June 13 attack, US intelligence agencies again found that Iran is not building a nuclear weapon. In March 2025, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard told Congress: “Iran is not building a nuclear weapon and Supreme Leader [Ayatollah Ali] Khamenei has not authorised the nuclear weapons programme that he suspended in 2003.”
US President Donald Trump has dismissed these findings. Apparently, so has Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney. Following Israel’s unprovoked attack on Iran, Carney unequivocally sided with Israel. Carney’s statement reads:
“Iran’s nuclear program has long been a cause of grave concern, and its missile attacks across Israel threaten regional peace. Today, I convened our National Security Council to receive an update on the situation and to ensure that all necessary steps will be taken to protect our nationals and our diplomatic missions in the region. Canada reaffirms Israel’s right to defend itself and to ensure its security. We call on all parties to exercise maximum restraint and move toward a diplomatic resolution.”
One marvels at the absurdity of Carney’s statement. Does Canada’s prime minister inhabit an alternative reality where Iran attacked Israel, not vice versa? A reality where it is incumbent on the victims of unprovoked attacks, not the aggressors, to ensure “regional peace” and “exercise maximum restraint?” A world in which a country that groundlessly launches an illegal war of aggression has the “right to defend itself,” while the victim of the attack has no such right?
“War of aggression” is not simply a rhetorical term. According to Article 51 of the United Nations charter, UN member states have the right to self-defence only “if an armed attack occurs against a Member.” Iran committed no armed attack against Israel; therefore, Israel is the aggressor. Supposedly “pre-emptive” attacks, which is how Israel has characterized its war on Iran, are not recognized under international law, making Israel’s war both aggressive and criminal. So much for the “rules-based order” that Canadian politicians are eager to laud.
Like Carney’s response, Global Affairs Canada’s statement on Israel’s war of aggression is utterly mind-boggling. It begins: “Canada condemns Iran’s attack on Israel and urges restraint on both sides. Further actions can cause devastating consequences for the broader region.”
Canada condemns Iran’s attack on Israel. There is no mention of Israel launching the war on June 13, only Iran’s retaliatory strikes, which are not described as defensive actions but rather as an “attack.” Linguistic contortions and flagrant omissions aside, one wants to shout toward Ottawa: What should Iran have done?! What would any country do when it is the victim of an unprovoked attack?! Under Article 51 of the UN Charter, Iran is well within its right to respond.
The statement continues: “The US-Iran negotiations represent the best path to achieving a lasting and peaceful resolution to Iran’s nuclear program. Diplomatic engagement remains essential to ensuring long-term regional stability and international security.”
Torpedoed Negotiations
Who torpedoed those negotiations by launching an unprovoked war? Who attempted to assassinate Ali Shamkhani, the Iranian official who oversaw negotiations with the US? Israel goes unnamed. The apartheid state remains blameless.
“Iran cannot obtain nuclear weapons,” the statement proceeds. “Iran’s continued efforts to pursue nuclear weapons, support for terrorists, and direct attacks on civilian centres embody Iran’s persistent threat to regional stability and to Israel, which has the right to defend itself.”
In the above passage, Ottawa uncritically parrots the long-discredited claim that Iran is pursuing nuclear weapons, thereby justifying Israel’s war of aggression. Global Affairs also failed to note that attacks on nuclear facilities, which Ottawa appears to endorse, are a direct violation of international law. As the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) itself has noted, “Any armed attack on and threat against nuclear facilities devoted to peaceful purposes constitutes a violation of the principles of the United Nations Charter, international law and the Statute of the Agency.”
From June 16 to 17, Canada hosted the annual G7 conference at Kananaskis, Alberta. From the Canadian Rockies, Western leaders refused to call for a ceasefire in Israel’s war of aggression and issued another statement affirming Israel’s “right to defend itself” and the danger of Iran’s non-existent nuclear weapons plans.
During a joint press conference, Carney stood silently beside Trump as the US president railed against Iran and repeated Israel’s false justifications for the attack: “I had 60 days, and they had 60 days. On the 61st day, I said, ‘we don’t have a deal.’ They have to make a deal, and it’s painful for both parties. But I’d say Iran is not winning this war, and they should talk, and they should talk immediately, before it’s too late.”
Carney did not see fit to interrupt the warmongering US president. If one goes by the Canadian government’s statements, this is because Ottawa, like the US, supports Israel’s war against Iran. Carney has not even condemned Trump’s apparent threat of annihilation against Tehran, a city of 10 million people. This raises the question: is there any action in support of Israel that Ottawa would not support?
Since October 2023, the Canadian government has actively supported, through material and diplomatic means, Israel’s genocide in Gaza, its invasion of Lebanon, its bombing of Yemen and Syria, and now, its war of aggression against Iran.
Ottawa Turns a Blind Eye
Ottawa turns a blind eye to Israel’s brazen violations of international law – the genocide of Palestinians; the illegal blockade of Gaza; the seizure of aid vessels on international waters; the unlawful occupation of territory in Lebanon, Syria, and Palestine; and illegal wars of aggression that target civilian and protected areas – for one simple reason. Israel targets Western foes. This is the single criterion that determines how Ottawa reacts to wars of aggression and violations of international law around the world.
As Israel launched its genocide in Gaza in late 2023, Canada increased its arms exports to the Israeli military. This prompted Michael Bueckert, vice president of Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME), to comment, “It’s almost as if Canada is accelerating its arms export authorization process amid a genocidal campaign.”
In February 2024, the government of Nicaragua announced that it was taking Canada to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for contributing to the genocide of Palestinians by supplying arms to Israel. The following month, the Trudeau government announced that it was ending arms sales to the IDF. This proved to be untrue, as the pledge to end military exports did not apply to hundreds of already approved arms deals. Despite the supposed “pause” in exports, Ottawa permitted the export of $18.9-million in Canadian military goods to Israel for use in the genocide of Palestinians and Israeli wars of aggression. The actual value of Canadian military exports to Israel could be much higher, as Global Affairs does not track exports to the US, some of which are then supplied to Israel.
In April 2024, Israel bombed the Iranian consulate in Damascus, killing at least eight Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) officers and two Syrian civilians. The Iranian government responded with a pre-announced strike on military targets within Israel, a reaction that sidestepped further escalation while demonstrating Iran’s willingness to hit Israel directly.
Disregarding Israel’s provocations against Iran, Ottawa sided unequivocally with the Israeli government. This despite the fact that the Israeli strike also damaged the Canadian embassy, which though closed, remains the property of the government of Canada. Reacting to the bombing, Minister Mélanie Joly could only bring herself to reference Israel’s damaging of the Canadian embassy in the passive voice: “What I can tell you is indeed we have an embassy in Syria that was not occupied because we’ve closed this embassy, and indeed it is an embassy that has been damaged.”
In Lebanon, Ottawa’s reputation is similarly sullied. As Israel geared up for its invasion of Lebanon in 2024, the Canadian government refused to play a peacemaking role. In June of that year, Israeli defence minister Israel Katz spoke with Canada’s foreign minister Mélanie Joly. Katz told Joly that, if Ottawa wants to prevent a wider war, she needs to “put pressure on Hezbollah’s Iranian backers.” Canada’s foreign minister apparently did not object.
A few days later, Joly urged Canadians to leave Lebanon, stating: “The security situation in Lebanon is becoming increasingly volatile and unpredictable due to sustained and escalating violence between Hezbollah and Israel and could deteriorate further without warning.” In her statement, Joly did not mention the root cause of the “volatile and unpredictable situation” – Israel’s genocidal assault on Gaza, in which Canada was and is complicit.
When Israel did expand the war into Lebanon, killing thousands and displacing hundreds of thousands, Joly simply said, “We are very concerned about what is happening in Lebanon.” It was unclear what concerned Joly, as she refused to name specific events and actors.
However, Ottawa’s response to Israel’s assassination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah cleared up the confusion: for the Canadian government, the problem was not Israel invading Lebanon but rather that Lebanese people resisted Israeli attacks. Ottawa quickly endorsed the assassination, which saw Israel bomb a densely populated area and kill at least 33 Lebanese civilians in order to reach Nasrallah. In the bombing’s aftermath, then Prime Minister Justin Trudeau described Nasrallah as “the leader of a terrorist organization that attacked and killed innocent civilians, causing immense suffering across the region.”
Israeli troops attacked UN forces without losing Canadian support. They killed Canadian citizens with impunity. They targeted journalists, medical staff, children – and still, Canada backed Israel’s regional wars through diplomatic support, direct arms transfers, and the repression of domestic dissent, including police attacks on Palestinian solidarity protests.
Around this time, Canada’s Defence Minister Bill Blair vowed to support a direct Israeli strike on Iran – an alarming statement that foreshadowed Ottawa’s support for Israel’s war of aggression.
In Yemen, too, Canada directly involved itself in a war against Israel’s enemies. From January 2024 to May 6, 2025, the US government and an assortment of Western allies, including Canada, engaged in an aggressive bombing campaign against Yemen designed to force an end to Ansar Allah’s efforts to stop the genocide in Gaza.
The US war on Yemen was launched under the guise of a multinational military operation dubbed “Operation Prosperity Guardian,” to which Canada contributed a number of staff officers. The Canadian government’s December 2023 announcement that it was joining Prosperity Guardian contained zero references to Israel’s genocide in Gaza.
When the Joe Biden administration launched its war on Yemen, the Canadian Armed Forces assisted the US military in bombing the country by contributing two planners and an intelligence analyst to the attacks. Following the strikes, former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said, “We support the very targeted actions taken by military assets from the UK and the US.”
A joint statement from Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly and Defence Minister Bill Blair read:
“Canada condemns the reckless Houthi attacks against commercial ships and crew operating in the Red Sea. They directly impact the flow of food, fuel, humanitarian assistance and other essential commodities to populations around the world, which can affect the global economy… We call on Houthis to cease their attacks immediately, and reiterate that they bear the consequences of their actions.”
Statements from Canadian government officials made no mention of the stated reason behind Yemen’s military operation: to apply economic pressure against Israel with the goal of ending its Western-armed genocide in Gaza.
As Trump barreled into his anti-Canadian annexationist rhetoric, Ottawa continued to back Washington’s war on Yemen. In March 2025, for instance, Canada endorsed a G7 statement that totally ignored the stated reasons for Yemen’s Red Sea blockade, described Yemen’s activities as “enabled by Iran’s military, financial, and intelligence support,” and “commend[ed] the efforts of…US-led Operation Prosperity Guardian.”
After taking power for the second time, Trump intensified the US assault on Yemen, massacring 80 Yemenis on April 17 and 68 on April 28. The April 28 bombing struck a detention centre where African migrants were being held. The chairman of the Somali community in Yemen said, “It was tragic and horrific… I saw burnt people. We couldn’t recognise some of the bodies we saw.”
Canada’s Mark Carney government offered no condemnation for Trump’s mass killing of Yemenis and African migrants in Yemen. Instead, Carney reserved his criticism for the Trump administration’s conduct surrounding the bombings, namely, US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth leaking information on the attacks to the press. Carney described the breach of secrecy as “a serious, serious issue” indicating that his concerns were reserved for details about US massacres in Yemen leaking to the public, rather than the massacres themselves.
Of course, Canada’s complicity in the war on Yemen goes back to the Saudi-led invasion of 2015. In the eight-year war that followed, Canada funneled weapons to the invasion force, and a pair of United Nations reports directly blamed Canada for fuelling the war on Yemen through its arms exports. The Canadian-backed war killed almost 400,000 Yemenis.
Canada Provides Diplomatic and Material Support to Israel
Over the past two years, Canada has provided diplomatic and material support to Israel to launch invasions, wars of aggression, assassinations, starvation campaigns, and other flagrant violations of international law targeting Gaza, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen – and now Iran. To justify the unjustifiable, Canadian politicians have deformed language and legalities to such a degree that any prior commitment to international peace, however questionable, has been definitively shredded before the world’s eyes. What has arisen in its place is a blood-drenched cynicism, a nihilistic lauding of the aggressor, and an open hatred of the victimized. There’s no going back from this.
Is there an Israeli war that Ottawa won’t support? It’s hard to imagine. The obsequiousness of Canadian politicians is so total that it often appears there is no country against which Israel could launch an unprovoked attack – be it Mauritius, or Palau, or Canada itself – that would not engender immediate Canadian condemnation for the country Israel has attacked. In almost every imaginable case, it seems likely that Canadian politicians would trip over themselves to embrace Israel and spit on the UN Charter, to hurry Canadian weapons into IDF hands while equating global outrage to violent antisemitism.
When will this end? It seems impossible to see any light at the end of the tunnel, but even so, Canadians must continue organizing. We must never allow Ottawa to normalize Israel’s agenda of regional subjugation, nor Canadian participation in genocide and wars of aggression. •
