Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand would not say whether or not Canada views the US-Israeli attacks on Iran as a violation of international law.
The minister faced repeated questions about the conflict while participating in a media scrum in New Delhi, filling in for Prime Minister Mark Carney, who abruptly canceled his scheduled meeting with reporters.
The United States and Israel launched a major attack on Iran on Saturday that killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. More than 150 people, including children, have been killed after a missile struck a school in southern Iran, Iranian officials said.
The UN education agency, UNESCO, called the bombing of the school a “serious violation of humanitarian law”.
Anand said Canada was not involved in any operation and had no advance notice. He repeated Prime Minister Mark Carney’s assertion that Canada would not participate in any military operations.
Canada would like to see a diplomatic solution when that is possible, the minister said.
Canadian Finance Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne, right, and Canadian Foreign Minister Anita Anand, second left, speak with Indian ministers and officials as they await the signing of the agreement and memorandum of understanding ceremony in New Delhi, India, Monday, March 2, 2026.
(AP Photo/Manish Swaroop)
“We want a diplomatic solution. That’s why I’ve been talking to all my G7 counterparts in the Middle East and the Gulf over the last two days, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, (the United Arab Emirates) and all of my G7 counterparts, stressing that Canada wants a diplomatic and peaceful solution.
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“The conversations I’ve had along those lines have yielded mixed responses. Some countries believe that a diplomatic solution is not possible at this time. Others want to work as quickly as possible to ensure that diplomacy is the next step in this dire situation.”
Carney and Anand released a joint statement Saturday, saying Canada supports the U.S. in preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon and preventing the Iranian regime from posing a “threat to international peace and security.”
Canada and Iran have not had formal diplomatic relations since 2012, and Canada lists the Iranian government as a state sponsor of terrorism.
Canada will continue to stand by the people of Iran, Anand said, adding that the government has issued nearly 500 sanctions related to the Iranian regime.
© 2026 The Canadian Press
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