Date: March 27, 2026

Dear Prime Minister,

The Iranian Canadian Congress (ICC), the largest democratic, non-governmental, non-religious, and non-partisan organization representing Iranian Canadians, calls on the Canadian government to take a principled stance rooted in truth, justice, and international law regarding the illegal and unprovoked US-Israeli war on Iran. We reiterate our calls for Canada to condemn the US-Israeli attacks on Iranian civilians, civilian buildings and infrastructure, for Canada to not participate in or contribute to the war on Iran in any way, and for Canada to advocate for cessation of US-Israeli aggressions and renewed diplomatic efforts, as outlined in our March 3rd letter.

We would like to express our grave concerns regarding the statements by the Canadian government made on February 28th, March 19th, and March 21st regarding the US-Israeli war on Iran. A common denominator of all these statements is the abhorrent obfuscation or denial of the fact that this illegal war was launched by the US and Israel on February 28th, without any United Nations Security Council authorization and in the midst of diplomatic negotiations between Iran and the US, just like the previous round of US-Israeli attacks on Iran in June 2025.

Iran’s right to self-defense against foreign aggressions is enshrined in international law. Condemning Iran’s retaliations while tacitly supporting the aggressors will undermine the credibility and standing of the Canadian government and risk making Canada complicit in US-Israeli war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Iran’s retaliations against the US-Israeli aggressions have been reciprocal and proportionate. Attacks on Iranian military bases have been met with retaliations against US-Israeli military bases. Attacks on Iranian energy infrastructure have been met with retaliations against energy infrastructure in the US vassal regimes in the Persian Gulf region. Iran’s exercise of strategic control over navigation in the Persian Gulf and Strait of Hormuz reciprocates a tiny fraction of the economic hardship imposed by maximum pressure sanctions on the Iranian people, sanctions led by the US and supported by Canada.

Your March 19th statement indicates that “Freedom of navigation is a fundamental principle of international law.” However, the Canadian government seems to be forgetting some of the other principles of international law which have been violated by the US and Israeli regime such as prohibition of force, non-intervention, sovereign equality, self-determination, and peremptory norms prohibiting genocide, apartheid, and crimes against humanity. The selective concern over freedom of navigation while disregarding the gross violation of other principles of international law speaks volumes about the priorities of the Canadian government.

The March 21st statement recycles the tired war propaganda slogan that “Iran must never obtain a nuclear weapon.” Yet, Iran remains a member of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and has allowed the most comprehensive inspections of its nuclear facilities by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The IAEA has repeatedly declared that there is no evidence that Iran is seeking or has a nuclear weapons program. The U.S. Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, testified under oath in March 2025 that “Iran is not building a nuclear weapon and Supreme Leader Khamenei has not authorized the nuclear weapons program.” She declared on March 18, 2026, referring to the illegal US attacks on Iranian nuclear facilities in June 2025, that “As a result of Operation Midnight Hammer, Iran’s nuclear enrichment program was obliterated. There have been no efforts since then to try to rebuild their enrichment capability.”

The March 21st statement proclaims Canada’s concern for Iranians, the Iraqi people and other people of West Asia. Perhaps these concerns could have been taken seriously if the Canadian government had condemned and opposed the US-Israeli attacks on Iranians since February 28, such as the bombing of the Shajareh Tayyebeh elementary school in Minab which killed over 165 school children and teachers, or the killing of more than one thousand Iranians by the US-Israeli attacks in June 2025, or the killing of thousands of Lebanese people, or the killing of hundreds of thousands of Iraqi people by the illegal US sanctions and invasion of Iraq, or the Western-backed Israeli genocide of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip since 2023. Indeed, we had hoped that you would make good on your March 10th remarks to the effect that Canada would “never participate” in the U.S.-Israeli offensive, but instead, the March 19th joint statement by the government would seem to indicate otherwise.

Most Canadians oppose the US-Israeli attacks on Iran and want the Canadian government to remain neutral in the war, as shown by a Leger poll published on March 16, 2026. Opposition to the war and Canada’s neutral position in the conflict is particularly important for Iranian Canadians due to their strong and broad ties to Iran. The ICC remains firmly opposed to foreign interference and war on Iran and advocates for diplomatic and political engagement based on mutual respect as it is the only path towards peaceful coexistence and cooperation.

We call on the Canadian government to:

• Condemn the illegal US-Israeli war on Iran and attacks on civilians, schools, hospitals, residential buildings, civilian and energy infrastructure;

• Rule out any participation in or contribution to the war on Iran;

• Prohibit the transfer of military goods and services that may be used in the war on Iran;

• Cooperate with international partners towards de-escalation and an end to US-Israeli aggressions against Iran;

• Restore diplomatic relations with Iran and promote diplomatic solutions to the conflict, including the lifting of sanctions, based on mutual respect, international law and multilateral cooperation.

Canada can and must live up to its potential as a peacemaker and strong advocate of international law in words and action.

Iranian Canadian Congress

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