The UN’s nuclear watchdog, the IAEA, today reported that Iran is still complying with the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) — the nuclear deal which the Trump administration unilaterally walked away from a little over one year ago:

 In a confidential quarterly report distributed to member states and seen by The Associated Press, the International Atomic Energy Agency said Iran has stayed within key limitations set in the so-called Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA.

Iran is continuing to fulfill its obligations despite the tightening of illegal unilateral U.S. economic sanctions that are strangling its economy, the seemingly daily escalation of tensions between the two countries, and warnings by Iran itself that its patience was running out.

The escalation of tension and threats between Iran and the United States during May is such that the respected Oxford Research Group warned of the increased potential for a new war in the Middle East with catastrophic social and economic consequences.

Alarm bells were also ringing in the U.S. Senate with Senator Angus King, a political independent from Maine,  stating:

The danger of an accidental conflict seems to be increasing over each day….

He went on to call for direct dialogue between the United States and Iran.

Concern grows among Iranian-Canadians

There is increasing concern among Iranian-Canadians over the prospect of war. In the words of Kei Esmeailpour, an Iranian-born Canadian citizen who immigrated with his family to Canada in 2002:

Everyone is worried about [the] rising tension between the U.S. and Iran…. War is destructive. No one wants war. Whenever humans had a war, citizens suffer from its consequences for the decades.

For the full article see: Worried Iranian Canadians call for “no war” as tensions intensify between U.S. and Iran (Aria Nasimi, Straight.com, 23 May 2019).

Peace organizations issue global plea for restraint

Non-governmental organizations like the Rideau Institute and the Group of 78, for their part, have joined a global statement issued by the Nobel Peace Prize-winning International Peace Bureau, the world’s oldest and largest peace network.  The statement reads in part:

Governments worldwide, particularly the EU and the UN, must explicitly and unambiguously call on the US to end the collision course with Iran. They must clarify that they will not support any military action by Trump against Iran.

Whither Canada?

Canadian diplomatic inaction in the face of these alarming developments stands in contrast to the significant financial contribution the Government of Canada has made to the IAEA’s verification of Iranian compliance with the nuclear agreement.

Photo credit: U.S. Mission in Geneva (during negotiation of JCPOA)