\n\u201cI was really shocked because \u2013 it was so sudden,\u201d said Mr. Fattahi, who studies electrical engineering and is vice-president of finance for the UBC Persian Club, a students\u2019 group.<\/h4>\n<\/aside>\n Unlike Britain, which closed its embassy in Iran last year after it was stormed by protesters, Canada appeared to lack a clearcut rationale for closing its embassy in Tehran, Mr. Fattahi said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the case of the Canadian government, you don\u2019t see any reason \u2013 at least on the outside,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd all the burdens of this development are on the shoulders of Iranian people \u2013 inside and outside of Iran.\u201d<\/p>\n
It is outside of Iran, in cities such as Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver, where Canada\u2019s decision to close its embassy is echoing most loudly, as thousands of Iranian expatriates discuss the diplomatic row. Some, like Mr. Fattahi, are worried about potential difficulties in obtaining visas, passports and other documents and question whether Canada\u2019s action will have any impact on the Iranian regime. Others praise Canada\u2019s move and hope other countries will follow suit.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf they [Canada] are serious about this regime, that they believe they are terrorists \u2026 the best thing they can do is just disconnect them from the world,\u201d said Abbas Esmaeili, a director of the Canadian Iranian Foundation, a non-profit group based in West Vancouver. \u201cSo this action is absolutely 100 per cent. Because if other countries do the same thing, I believe that they can change this regime without any bloodshed.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thousands of Iranians such as Mr. Esmaeili have moved to the Lower Mainland over the past two decades, with many settling in North Vancouver and West Vancouver, where Farsi-language signs have popped up on stores and restaurants. The 2006 census reports more than 120,000 people of Iranian ethnic origin in Canada, with nearly 30,000 of those in B.C.<\/p>\n
In announcing Canada\u2019s decision, Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird described the government of Iran as \u201cthe most significant threat to global peace and security in the world,\u201d citing its support for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, its threats against Israel and its refusal to comply with United Nations resolutions relating to the country\u2019s nuclear program. Mr. Baird also raised concerns about the safety of Canadian diplomats in Iran.<\/p>\n
Canadian diplomatic staff had already left Iran by the time Mr. Baird made his announcement. Iranian diplomats were given five days, until Wednesday, to leave Canada.<\/p>\n
The editor of a weekly Persian-interest newspaper says he has received mostly negative feedback about Canada\u2019s decision to cut ties with Iran. \u201cIt\u2019s always better to leave the door open. And what is such a rush to close the door between the two countries?\u201d said Hadi Ebrahimi, editor of Shahrvand B.C.<\/p>\n
Others, however, say the door had been kept open far too long.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it\u2019s time for the world to stand up and say what is right,\u201d said Poran Poregbal, a social worker and therapist who came to Canada in 1998 after leaving Iran a decade earlier. \u201cI actually appreciate Canada\u2019s \u2026 recent action \u2013 they are referring to human rights in Iran and that is what I care about.\u201d<\/p>\n
WENDY STUECK<\/p>\n
VANCOUVER\u00a0\u2014\u00a0The Globe and Mail<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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