Israel's Right to Self-Defence

"Further action [risks triggering] a broader regional conflict with devastating consequences. De-escalation must be the priority."

"We urge all parties to refrain from actions that further destabilize the region. The protection of civilians must be paramount."

"Importantly, Canadians in the region are advised to exercise a very high degree of caution, monitor developments closely, and follow the advice of local authorities."

Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand

 

"Don't think that they hit and it's over. No."

"They started the work and started the War."

"We will not allow them to escape safely from this great crime they committed."

Iranian Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei  

 

"[There will be] even more brutal [attacks if Tehran did not soon reach a nuclear deal]."

"Iran must make a deal, before there is nothing left, and save what was once known as the Iranian Empire."

U.S. President Donald Trump 

 

"[Israel took] unilateral action against Iran [that did not involve the United States]." 

"Our top priority is protecting American forces in the region."

"Israel advised us that they believe this action was necessary for its self-defence. President Trump and the administration have taken all necessary steps to protect our forces and remain in close contact with out regional partners."

"Let me be clear: Iran should not target U.S. interests or personnel."

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio  

Israel continued to strike Iran's capital Tehran on Sunday night   Getty Images

 

The Liberal government that has ruled Canada for the last decade has abandoned in all but veneer, the traditional relationship of alliance between two democracies -- Israel and Canada -- under its administration. Under previous, and most particularly Conservative-led governments -- the Liberal government's immediate Conservative administration led by former Prime Minister Stephen Harper in particular -- left no illusions that there was ever a gap in the friendship and support Canada gave to Israel. During the administration of former PM Justin Trudeau that relationship descended markedly into suspicion and grudging support.

 

Canadian demographics had undergone a marked change, for one thing. In Mr. Trudeau's sanctimonious overtures to economic migrants flooding North America streaming toward the United States, he welcomed those whom the U.S. refused, recognizing them as fomenters of Islamic entitlements. He offered haven to Muslims from war-torn Middle East and North African nations. Emigration from the Near East and North Africa picked up pace, and Canada now has a sizeable voting bloc emanating from that demographic that politicians cater to, inviting their ballots.

 

Censuring Israel, for what is interpreted, thanks to an Islamist/Palestinian public relations campaign, as 'occupation' of unceded Judaic ancestral territory partitioned by the United Nations in 1948 to offer a state to the Jewish occupants of the land, and a similar state to the Arab population who took on the designation of Palestinians meant to distinguish Jewish territory during the Roman occupation. An 'occupation' necessitated to maintain security and control over the actions of Palestinians dedicated to the  destruction of Israel and the death of Jews.

 

Decades of incitement, agitation, formation of Iranian proxy terror groups undertaken by the Quds division of the Islamic National Guard Corps of the Islamic Republic of Iran, had succeeded in forging an 'Axis of Resistance' of Shi'ite Islamists to Israel's presence in the Middle East. That same axis conducted a sectarian/tribal conflict with the majority Sunni-Muslim Middle East in an enterprise of long duration to replace the authority of the Sunni majority with the conquest to be achieved by the minority Shias in their traditional sectarian-tribal antipathies.

 

Israeli security forces inspect the site of homes destroyed by a missile fired from Iran, in Rishon Lezion, Israel, on Saturday. The federal government is urging Canadians to 'avoid all travel' to Israel as the country exchanges missile and air strikes with Iran. (Ohad Zwigenberg/The Associated Press)

 

Iran has threatened repeatedly over the years to destroy the presence of Israel. And over those same years it has worked assiduously to produce nuclear-grade uranium to produce nuclear weapons, a program it disguises as fulfilling a domestic need for nuclear-powered civilian energy ... in a country with vast oil and gas energy resources. Iran has never fully cooperated with the UN's Atomic Energy Commission inspectors who have reported that Iran has flouted its rules and  hidden its true purpose in refining uranium to weapons-grade status.

 

Taken together with Iran's threats, its sponsorship and arming of acknowledged terrorist groups such as Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Hezbollah, Iraqi Shia militias, Yemen's Houthis, and formerly Syria's Assad military, and finally its near approach of late to acquiring nuclear devices, Israel made its move. A move that Iran prompted when its Hamas-supported leaders decided to invade southern Israel in a concerted sadistically-savage orgy of mass rape, mutilation, murder and  hostage-taking.

 

That horrific event led to Israel's military invasion of Gaza and its determination to finally destroy the group that had continued to attack it with rockets and suicide bombers over the years, then to turn its military to address a year's worth of rocketry attacks from Hezbollah, and finally the Houthi rocket attacks. The Iranian regime as the source of the venom that had infested the Axis, was the final target to be addressed and destroyed, as a forced move of self-defense for Israel.

 

Israel launched a pre-emptive strike against the nuclear-facilities in Iran, targeting as well the top IRGC leaders. Iran retaliated, unleashing hundreds of ballistic missiles on Israel, targeting mostly civilian areas in response; explosions lighting up the sky over Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. The missiles sent to Israel by Iran have been intercepted by Israel and the United States, with assistance from Jordan and Saudi Arabia. Israel's western allies like the U.K. and France are markedly less keen to render aid to Israel, more inclined to criticize the Jewish state, as Canada has done.

 

All three countries jointly censured Israel for its Gaza invasion, with the Israel Defense Forces engaged in eliminating the threat of Hamas terrorism:

"If Israel does not cease the renewed military offensive and lift its restrictions on humanitarian aid, we will take further concrete actions in response."

"We will continue to work with the Palestinian Authority, regional partners, Israel and the United States to finalize consensus on arrangements for Gaza’s future, building on the Arab plan. We affirm the important role of the High-Level Two-State Solution Conference at the UN in June in building international consensus around this aim."

"And we are committed to recognizing a Palestinian state as a contribution to achieving a two-state solution and are prepared to work with others to this end."

Britain, France, Canada  

 

The Israeli Iron Dome air defence system fires to intercept missiles over Tel Aviv, Israel, Sunday, June 15, 2025. (AP Photo/Leo Correa) 

 

"[Israel] disarming Iran's genocidal nuclear program [is within Israel's right to self-defence]."

"It cannot wait until the regime has capabilities for a nuclear strike."

Canadian Official Parliamentary Opposition, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre

  

"The international community must not allow the Iranian regime to acquire the means to threaten millions of lives in the Middle East, Europe, and ultimately here in North America."

"Countries like Canada that value democracy and reject terrorism must stand firmly in support of Israel's right to defend itself, especially against the threat of a nuclear-armed Iran."

Noah Shack, interim president, Center for Israel and Jewish Affairs