Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre on Tuesday reiterated his call for Israel to launch a pre-emptive strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities, saying such action would be “a gift from the Jewish state to humanity.”
Poilievre first expressed his support Monday at a remembrance ceremony in Ottawa marking the one-year anniversary of the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack against Israel. The ensuing conflict in the Middle East reached a new peak last week, when Iran – which supports Hamas and other proxy militant groups fighting Israel – launched a barrage of ballistic missiles at Israel, which vowed retaliation.
US President Joe Biden and other world leaders warned against attacking Iranian nuclear facilities due to fears that the conflict would escalate into an all-out war between two of the most armed countries in the region.
Poilievre did not say whether he disagreed with Biden’s assessment when asked by reporters in Ottawa on Tuesday, but he stressed his belief that striking the facilities would prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons.
“I believe that the idea of allowing a genocidal, theocratic, unstable dictatorship desperate to avoid being overthrown by its own people to develop nuclear weapons is the most dangerous and irresponsible thing the world could ever allow,” Poilievre said.
“If Israel can prevent that genocidal, unstable, theocratic government from obtaining nuclear weapons, it will be a gift from the Jewish state to humanity.”
Poilievre has long taken a hard-line approach towards Iran and holds it responsible for the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel and overall violence in the Middle East, saying Tehran wants to undermine peace talks between Israel and Saudi Arabia.
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During his speech Monday, which followed one by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Poilievre said Canada must support Israel’s right to defend itself against Iran and other regional threats, including “preemptively striking Iranian nuclear sites and oil facilities to stop financing the terrorist regime.”
“Israel must be able to prevent Iran from using nuclear weapons, if necessary,” Poilievre said.
A fatwa issued decades ago by Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei prohibits the development, spread and use of nuclear weapons. but The Iranian Minister of Intelligence warned This position could change if it is “backed into a corner,” and there are concerns within the international community that Iran may still be able to use its nuclear program to produce such a weapon relatively quickly.
Iran began enriching uranium again After then-US President Donald Trump withdrew the United States from the international agreement that limited Iran’s nuclear program in 2018.
Kamala Harris, US Vice President, who is running for president, said during an interview broadcast on CBS: 60 minutes She said on Monday that Iran is the United States’ biggest adversary, and that one of her “highest priorities” would be to ensure that Iran “never achieves the ability to become a nuclear power.”
It is widely believed that Israel possesses nuclear weaponsBut there is no concrete evidence and the country has neither acknowledged nor denied its existence.
In the wake of the Iranian ballistic missile attack on October 2, Trudeau and Foreign Minister Mélanie Jolie said their goal was to ensure that a broader war between Israel and Iran was avoided.
Defense Secretary Bill Blair told reporters on Monday that it would be “appropriate” for Israel to strike Iranian oil production facilities, but did not mention the nuclear sites.
He added: “When we talk about Israel’s ability to defend itself, this will certainly include missile launch sites, military installations and airports from which these attacks are launched, but Israel has the right to defend itself against such attacks and reduce Iran’s capabilities to attack.” He said.
Biden told reporters the day after the Iranian attack that “the answer is no” when asked about Israel striking Iranian nuclear facilities, and stressed the need for a “proportionate” response. He said his administration would hold discussions with its Israeli counterparts about what that response might look like.
“We continue to discuss next steps with Israel, to include steps that must be taken to defend Israel,” Pentagon spokesman Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said on Monday, emphasizing the need to avoid further escalation. He said he would not “speculate” on a possible strike on nuclear sites.
However, Trump said during a campaign event on Friday that Iran’s nuclear program “is the thing you want to hit” and that he disagreed with Biden’s approach.
“The answer should have been to hit the nuclear first and worry about the rest later,” he said, referring to how he felt Biden should have responded to reporters.
Harris said after the Iranian attack on Israel that the United States “will continue to work with our allies and partners to obstruct Iran’s aggressive behavior and hold them accountable.”
Giora Eiland, a retired major general in the Israeli army, told Mercedes-Stevenson in an interview broadcast on Sunday: Western bloc And that Israel may not necessarily go after Iran’s “well-protected” nuclear facilities.
But he added: “Israel could do real significant damage to Iran if we attack other potential targets.”
—With files from Saba Aziz
&Copy 2024 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
