Anand won’t comment on whether U.S.-Israeli strikes are legal – National

Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand will not say whether or not Canada sees U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran as a violation of international law.

The minister faced repeated questions about the conflict while taking part in a media scrum in New Delhi, filling in for Prime Minister Mark Carney who abruptly cancelled his scheduled meeting with reporters.

The United States and Israel launched a major attack on Iran Saturday that killed the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iranian officials have said more than 150 people, including children, died after a reported missile strike hit a school in southern Iran.

The UN education agency, UNESCO, called the bombing on the school a “grave violation of humanitarian law.”

Anand said Canada was not involved in any operations and had no advance notification. She also repeated Prime Minister Mark Carney’s assertion that Canada will not participate in any military action.

The minister added that Canada would like to see a diplomatic solution when that’s possible.

“We prefer a diplomatic solution. This is why I have spent the last two days speaking with my counterparts across the Middle East and in the Gulf states, from Jordan, to Qatar, to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, to (United Arab Emirates) and all of my G7 counterparts stressing that Canada believes in a diplomatic and peaceful solution, and as soon as possible, we would like parties to get to the table,” Anand said.

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“The conversations that I’ve had in that vein have yielded differing responses. Some countries believe that a diplomatic solution is not possible at this time. Others want to work as quickly as possible to ensure diplomacy becomes the next phase of this horrific situation.”

Carney and Anand issued a joint statement Saturday saying that Canada supports the U.S. “acting to prevent” Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon and stopping the Iranian regime from “threatening international peace and security.”

Canada and Iran have not had formal diplomatic relations since 2012 and Canada has listed the Iranian government as a state sponsor of terrorism.

Anand said that Canada will continue to stand by the Iranian people, noting the government has issued about 500 sanctions linked to the Iranian regime.

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