Iran Fires Back at Canada, Calls Ottawa 'Racist'

Tehran threatens retaliation after Canada cuts diplomatic relations
By John Johnson,  Newser Staff
Posted Sep 8, 2012 8:58 AM CDT
Iran Fires Back at Canada, Calls Ottawa 'Racist'
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.   (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

Iran is threatening unspecified retaliation against Canada after the latter closed its embassy in Tehran and ordered Iranian diplomats to leave Canadian soil. "The hostile behavior of the current racist government in Canada in reality follows the policies dictated by the Zionists and the British," said a foreign ministry spokesman. He also accused Canadian PM Stephen Harper of "extreme policies," reports the Jerusalem Post.

In making the move, Canada cited Iran's nuclear program, its anti-Israel rhetoric, its alleged aid to Syria's Bashar al-Assad, and generally for being "the most significant threat to global peace and security." Iran's Fars news agency quotes another Iranian official warning of "immediate and decisive" retaliation, though he didn't specify what it might be, reports Reuters. (More Iran stories.)

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