Iran

Friday May 11, 2018

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Friday May 11, 2018

The world is nervously watching as the gloves come off between Iran and Israel

Israel says that it’s done with strikes on Iran — for now. France fears an escalation. Iran has its finger on the trigger. But, really, it’s Russian President Vladimir Putin who sits in the hot seat.

July 15, 2015

Where once the US would have been the brake on spikes in Syrian violence, there is a real possibility President Donald Trump’s withdrawal from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal is greasing the wheels towards a wider regional war.

In recent months, the world’s top diplomat, UN Secretary-General António Guterres, has warned that Israeli and Iranian tit-for-tat strikes in Syria could quickly boil over to a regional conflagration.

Overnight, rockets fired by Iranian forces from inside Syria toward Israel triggered a forewarned robust response from Israel’s military — targeting Iranian military assets in Syria.

Since early February, when Israel says it shot down an Iranian drone laden with explosives that was launched from Syria, the Israeli Defense Forces have increased retaliatory strikes in Syria at Iranian targets.

Some of those strikes are reported to have killed several Iranian fighters. Yet until this point there had been no Iranian retaliation.

The sudden surge in the exchange of rockets Wednesday night — on the heels of Trump’s exit from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action — hints that Iran has suspended its strategic restraint.

If so, the likelihood that the Iranian-Israeli confrontation will escalate increases. (Source: CNN) 

 

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Friday February 23, 2018

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Friday February 23, 2018

Families struggle to survive in Eastern Ghouta, under siege

A four-day-long bombardment by Syrian government forces is reported to have killed more than 300 civilians in the rebel-held Eastern Ghouta area. Here, people living there tell their stories.

February 20, 2014

The enclave – home to an estimated 393,000 people – has been under siege since 2013. But pro-government media say a major military operation might soon begin to clear rebel factions from their last major stronghold near the capital Damascus.

The relentless air and artillery strikes are leaving civilians, particularly women and children, in a state of fear and forcing them to seek shelter underground, where they are largely deprived of food and sanitation.

“We are living in a basement, underneath a half-destroyed house,” Asia, a 28-year-old student and mother-of-three whose husband was killed in an attack while he was on his way to work, told the BBC. 

“My daughter is sick. Her hair is falling out because she is so afraid.” 

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based monitoring group, says the government and its allies have carried out more than 1,290 air strikes on the Eastern Ghouta and fired 6,190 rockets and shells at the region since mid-November, when hostilities between government and rebel forces escalated. 

Between Sunday and Wednesday alone there were reportedly about 420 air strikes, and 140 barrel bombs were dropped by helicopters.

UN war crimes experts are also investigating several reports of rockets allegedly containing chlorine being fired at the Eastern Ghouta this year.

The recent surge in casualties means that more than 1,070 civilians, including several hundred children and women, have been killed and 3,900 injured in the past three months, according to the Syrian Observatory. (Source: BBC News) 

Wednesday January 6, 2016

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator Ð Wednesday January 6, 2016 Canada stands by $15B Saudi arms deal after executions A $15-billion contract signed under the previous government to supply Saudi Arabia with light-armoured military vehicles won't be revisited after the execution of dozens of prisoners in that country, the foreign minister says. Sheik Nimr al-Nimr, a prominent Shia cleric, was one of 47 prisoners recently executed by Saudi Arabia. "We have said during the campaign Ñ the prime minister has been very clear Ñ that we will not cancel this contract or contracts that have been done under the previous government in general," StŽphane Dion said Tuesday in an interview with Rosemary Barton on CBC's Power and Politics. "We'll review the process by which these contracts are assessed in the future. But what is done is done and the contract is not something that we'll revisit," Dion said. Since the Shia cleric's execution, a diplomatic row between Iran and Saudi Arabia has escalated. Iranian protesters stormed the Saudi embassy in Tehran and Iran's top leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, predicted "divine vengeance" for the execution. Dion condemned the executions and the subsequent violence in Tehran directed at the Saudi embassy. He said Canada could play a more robust role in easing tensions between the two powers if it had a diplomatic relationship with Iran, despite its questionable record. "The fact that Canada is not in Tehran is helping nobody. It's not helping the population of Iran, it's not helping Saudi Arabia, it's not helping Israel Ñ so we need to engage Iran in trying to be positive in the region," the foreign minister said. (Source: CBC News) http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/stephane-dion-saudi-arms-deal-1.3390854 Canada, Iran, Saudi, Arabia, Sunni, Shia, Justin Trudeau, Sunny, ways, diplomacy

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday January 6, 2016

Canada stands by $15B Saudi arms deal after executions

A $15-billion contract signed under the previous government to supply Saudi Arabia with light-armoured military vehicles won’t be revisited after the execution of dozens of prisoners in that country, the foreign minister says.

Friday, September 5, 2014Sheik Nimr al-Nimr, a prominent Shia cleric, was one of 47 prisoners recently executed by Saudi Arabia.

“We have said during the campaign — the prime minister has been very clear — that we will not cancel this contract or contracts that have been done under the previous government in general,” Stéphane Dion said Tuesday in an interview with Rosemary Barton on CBC’s Power and Politics.

“We’ll review the process by which these contracts are assessed in the future. But what is done is done and the contract is not something that we’ll revisit,” Dion said.

Since the Shia cleric’s execution, a diplomatic row between Iran and Saudi Arabia has escalated. Iranian protesters stormed the Saudi embassy in Tehran and Iran’s top leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, predicted “divine vengeance” for the execution.

Dion condemned the executions and the subsequent violence in Tehran directed at the Saudi embassy.

He said Canada could play a more robust role in easing tensions between the two powers if it had a diplomatic relationship with Iran, despite its questionable record.

“The fact that Canada is not in Tehran is helping nobody. It’s not helping the population of Iran, it’s not helping Saudi Arabia, it’s not helping Israel — so we need to engage Iran in trying to be positive in the region,” the foreign minister said. (Source: CBC News)

 

Wednesday July 15, 2015

Editorial cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator - Wednesday July 15, 2015 Iran after a nuclear deal: Where will Canada stand? Iran and the P5+1 Ð China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States, or the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, plus Germany Ð finally reached a deal on Tuesday resolving the long-standing dispute over IranÕs nuclear ambitions. This raises questions for Canada, which has displayed a particularly aggressive stance toward Iran in recent years. The Harper governmentÕs hostility toward Tehran has been based on the premise, frequently expressed by the Prime Minister and senior ministers, that Iran poses the greatest threat to international peace and security. The government has nuanced this assessment recently, labelling Iran a ÒsignificantÓ threat to international security, presumably reflecting growing concern about the Islamic State and Russia. Nevertheless, it remains that Canada has differentiated itself from its allies under the Conservatives, adopting a harder line against Iran. Concretely, this has meant that to protest against IranÕs nuclear program, human rights record, and confrontational regional policies, Canada has implemented all UN sanctions against Iran and has vocally adopted additional unilateral measures. In multilateral settings, Canadian diplomats repeatedly and assertively lambaste Iran. Ottawa also severed diplomatic relations in 2012. As nuclear talks progressed over the past two years, Canada remained deeply skeptical of Iranian intentions and insisted that only tangible actions would prove IranÕs commitment to restraining its nuclear program. Canada also systematically emphasized that human rights had not improved under President Hassan Rouhani and that IranÕs support for terrorism across the Middle East continues unabated. This aggressive policy towards Iran has been based on a flawed premise, has had a marginal impact, and has resulted in few measurable benefits. (Contin

Editorial cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday July 15, 2015

Iran after a nuclear deal: Where will Canada stand?

Iran and the P5+1 – China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States, or the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, plus Germany – finally reached a deal on Tuesday resolving the long-standing dispute over Iran’s nuclear ambitions. This raises questions for Canada, which has displayed a particularly aggressive stance toward Iran in recent years.

The Harper government’s hostility toward Tehran has been based on the premise, frequently expressed by the Prime Minister and senior ministers, that Iran poses the greatest threat to international peace and security. The government has nuanced this assessment recently, labelling Iran a “significant” threat to international security, presumably reflecting growing concern about the Islamic State and Russia. Nevertheless, it remains that Canada has differentiated itself from its allies under the Conservatives, adopting a harder line against Iran.

Concretely, this has meant that to protest against Iran’s nuclear program, human rights record, and confrontational regional policies, Canada has implemented all UN sanctions against Iran and has vocally adopted additional unilateral measures. In multilateral settings, Canadian diplomats repeatedly and assertively lambaste Iran. Ottawa also severed diplomatic relations in 2012.

As nuclear talks progressed over the past two years, Canada remained deeply skeptical of Iranian intentions and insisted that only tangible actions would prove Iran’s commitment to restraining its nuclear program. Canada also systematically emphasized that human rights had not improved under President Hassan Rouhani and that Iran’s support for terrorism across the Middle East continues unabated.

This aggressive policy towards Iran has been based on a flawed premise, has had a marginal impact, and has resulted in few measurable benefits. (Continued: Globe & Mail)

 

Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Tuesday, February 26, 2013By Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Ken Taylor satisfied with Affleck’s Oscar shoutout

Former Canadian ambassador Ken Taylor says he was satisfied to hear Ben Affleck thank Canada as the director accepted the best picture Oscar for the political thriller Argo on Sunday night.

Taylor watched the awards bash from the AOL offices in New York, where he took part in a live online interview with James Lipton of Inside the Actors Studio.

The diplomat had earlier suggested he was hoping Affleck would mention Canada’s role in the 1980 rescue of six U.S. embassy staffers in the Iranian capital if Argo — which dramatizes the high-risk operation — won the top prize.

Late Sunday, he acknowledged Affleck’s shoutout to Canada during a rapid-fire speech that also offered thanks to “everyone in the movie.”

“He, in a rush, accepted and tried to extend recognition to everybody in sight and so that was fine. We were comfortable with that,” Taylor said in a phone interview immediately after the AOL taping.

“I think that the nature of the Oscars is such that it’s an electric moment for those involved and they all want to say something within a set time and I think that’s it. Whatever scripted thoughts they had they put away and get caught up in the theme and the celebration.”

Flanked by co-producer George Clooney, Affleck threw kudos to his fellow nominees, especially Lincoln director Steven Spielberg and the real-life CIA agent who inspired his film. (Source: CBC News)