Prime Minister Stephen Harper on Friday called for a peaceful resolution to the threat posed by Iran, and was non-committal about any military action Canada might take.
The prime minister was in New York for a private talk with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who earlier in a speech to the United Nations General Assembly called for "red lines" to be set on Iran's nuclear ambitions.
Harper didn't go so far in his statements, but made it clear he considers Iran a clear and present danger.
"Our country has not been shy about warning the world of the danger the Iranian regime ultimately presents to all of us," Harper said in his brief remarks before the two leaders held their private, 30-minute discussion.
He added: "We want to see a peaceful resolution and we work closely with our allies to try to alert the world to the danger this presents and the necessity of dealing with it."
Ahead of the talks, Netanyahu called Harper "a great champion of freedom and a great friend of Israel" and applauded Canada for severing diplomatic ties with Iran and recalling its diplomats from Tehran.
"I think what you did, severing ties with Iran, was not only an act of statesmanship but an act of moral clarity," he told Harper.
"The fact that you took such clear, decisive steps is a great example to be followed by other nations, many of which attended a conference in Tehran and said nothing."
The two leaders shook hands and posed for photos before their meeting, but did not take questions from the media.
According to CTV's Ottawa Bureau Chief Robert Fife, Harper’s non-committal stance on possible military action against Iran leaves the media and analysts “in a clueless situation.”
“We need to press him a little more on what he means,” Fife said on CTV’s Power Play. “All we have from officials is that he’s not going to talk about that and that he obviously wants a peaceful resolution.”
The meeting between the two leaders came one day after both made speeches slamming Iran and after delegations from both countries walked out Wednesday during a speech by the Iranian leader to the United Nations. Iran responded by issuing an advisory to its citizens, warning against travel to Canada.
Though Netanyahu raised his concerns before the UN, Harper turned down an invitation to speak to the General Assembly and instead travelled to New York to collect a statesman of the year award, which he received Thursday night from a high profile New York-based group. However, he used his acceptance speech to warn of the danger posed by Iran.
Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird will speak to the General Assembly on Monday.
NDP MP Paul Dewar, speaking on Power Play, accused Harper of conducting his international diplomacy “a little bit like an election. It’s all photo-ops and no contact.”
“It’s incumbent upon the prime minister to go to the General Assembly to explain Canada’s position,” he said.
He added that Harper’s unwillingness to talk to media reveals that he is not willing to be open about the government’s position on Iran.
However, Deepak Obhrai, parliamentary secretary to the minister of foreign affairs, suggested it is fitting for Baird, as foreign minister, to address the General Assembly on Canada’s foreign policy instead of Harper.
“The most important issue about this whole thing is getting results, not showmanship,” Obhrai said.
