Ontario court decision angers Iran
TORONTO • An Ontario court decision that holds Iran financially accountable to victims of the terrorist groups it sponsors is threatening to complicate Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s attempts to mend diplomatic ties with the Islamic republic.
Through its state-controlled media, Iran reacted angrily over the weekend to the judge’s ruling and seemed to make the resumption of diplomatic relations conditional on overturning it, something Ottawa is unlikely to consider.
“The move by the Canadian government contradicts claims about the normalization of relations between the two countries and compensation for the extremist policies of the country’s former government,” the Iranian foreign ministry spokesman said.
Hossein Jaberi Ansari called the decision by Ontario’s Superior Court of Justice a “political ruling” and “a new step in the direction of the hostile policies of the former extremist government of Canada, which was felled by popular vote,” Press TV reported.
“Any normalization in the two countries’ diplomatic ties requires a radical revision of the extremist and wrong politics of the former Canadian government, such as the violation of Iran’s judicial immunity,” Mehr News Agency quoted Ansari as saying.
The berating came after Foreign Affairs Minister Stéphane Dion confirmed Friday talks “at the official level” had begun with Iran on restoring diplomatic relations, four years after they were severed by then-prime minister Stephen Harper.
The Conservatives cited concerns over security of the Canadian embassy in Tehran as well as a list of grievances, such as Iran’s military support for the Syrian dictatorship and its nuclear program.
At the same time, Ottawa listed Iran as a state sponsor of terrorism. The listing lifted Iran’s state immunity, opening it to civil suits brought by victims of Iranian-backed terrorist groups, particularly Hamas and Hezbollah.
Five court proceedings were subsequently launched in Ontario by victims of eight Hamas and Hezbollah attacks. They sought enforcement of a dozen U.S. judgments against Iran, its Ministry of Information and Security and its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Among those seeking damages were the parents of Marla Bennett, 24, who was at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem when a Hamas suicide bomber struck on July 31, 2002. They won a $13-million wrongful death suit against Iran in the U.S. and came to Toronto to collect on the country’s assets.
After initially ignoring the cases, the Iranians hired a Toronto law firm to defend them.
Last Thursday, Justice Glenn Hainey upheld the judgments, awarding Iranian non-diplomatic properties and bank accounts in Toronto and Ottawa to the victims. Ottawa intervened to protect Iran’s diplomatic assets.