Hossein Jaberi Ansari, Iran’s Foreign Ministry Spokesman, reacted to a recent ‘politicized’ ruling by Ontario Superior Court for the seizure of $13 million of Tehran’s non-diplomatic assets in Canada over ‘baseless allegations’ on Iran’s ‘so-called support’ for terrorist groups, saying “the Islamic Republic of Iran deems this move a new step in the path of hostile policies of the former extremist government of Canada that was overthrown by popular vote.”
“Identifying and executing politicized and absentee ballots issued by the American courts that have been approved by Ontario Superior Court runs contrary to the international commitments of the Canadian government as well as known rules of international law concerning judicial immunity of states and their properties,” Jaberi Ansari said.
He went on to add that the move, from a political viewpoint, is contrary to the statements of the new Canadian government that it wants to normalize relations with Iran and compensate for the extremist policies of its previous government.
“Any form of 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,” he stressed.
The Iranian diplomat further reaffirmed that non-compliance with the aforementioned obligations will put international responsibility on the Canadian Government, and that Iran reserves its right to take necessary measures to claim its legal rights including compensation for possible losses incurred.
The order by the Canadian court follows a ruling by US Supreme Court against Iran on the transfer of about $2bn of frozen Iranian assets to the families of victims of the 1983 bombing in Beirut. Iran has strongly condemned the order and is following up on the issue in international arenas.
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