Iran is not holding back in its criticism of Canada, accusing the country of caving to U.S. pressure and appeasing its "bullying neighbor" over the Strait of Hormuz situation. The sharp rebuke came from Esmaeil Baghaei, Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesperson, who took to X on Monday to describe Canada's position as "a display of strategic confusion and submission to intimidation."
Baghaei's comments were in direct response to a recent post by President Donald Trump, who shared a map on Truth Social depicting the U.S. flag superimposed over much of North America, including Canada and Mexico, as well as Greenland, Iceland, and Caribbean islands like Cuba and Jamaica. Baghaei seized on this, criticizing Canada for placating the U.S. on the very day Trump demonstrated "blatant contempt for Canada's sovereignty and independence."
In his post, Baghaei wrote: "On the very day the U.S. president, in blatant contempt for Canada's sovereignty and independence, portrayed the entire country as part of the United States, Canada's foreign and finance ministers chose to further appease their bullying neighbor—this time by targeting Iran with a…"
The Iranian spokesperson went on to question Canada's credibility as a defender of "peace and security," "freedom of navigation," and "international law" while simultaneously supporting U.S. military aggression. He warned that Canada's decision would not shield it from "American bullying and aggression," and he questioned why Ottawa would back Washington given its experience of "American bad faith and knowing that U.S. signatures are written in pencil."
