Iran Foreign Ministry slams Canada freeze of Tehran assets

Iran’s Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast has lashed out at the Ottawa government for freezing the Iranian government’s assets in Canada, saying the move is the flagrant violation of international law.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran holds the Canadian government accountable for this violation of international law,” Mehmanparast said on Monday.

He added that the decision of an Ontario judge to freeze Iran’s assets runs counter to principles of the United Nations Charter, the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations and the 1963 Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, and is also incompatible with customary international law.

The immunity of governments and their assets is an established principle of international law and inter-governmental relations, he noted.

The Iranian spokesperson emphasized that if this principle (immunity of governments) is violated under political considerations, the final result will be the collapse of international system which is based on equality of governments.

He added that political motivations behind Canada’s move are not hidden to anybody as Canadian court issued the order immediately after suspension of political ties between the two countries and closure of Iran’s Embassy in Canada.

Mehmanparast said the Islamic Republic rejects accusations about having a role in any act of terror in any part of the world and strongly condemns the politically-motivated move by the Canadian court.

The spokesman called for an immediate end to such measures, saying that Iran reserves the right to pursue the Canadian government over its anti-Iran measure through political and legal means.