Statement by the Association of Families of Flight PS752 Victims on the Possibility of Reopening the Embassy of the Islamic Regime in Iran in Canada

Prime Minister Mark Carney recently stated that Canada should consider reopening the embassy of the Islamic regime in Iran. In response, we must say that while the Prime Minister may have forgotten the crimes committed by the Islamic regime in Iran against Iranians and Canadians alike, Canada has not, and will not.

Restoring diplomatic relations with a regime that is recognized in Canada as a state sponsor of terrorism would disregard the suffering of countless survivors and families affected by its crimes over the past five decades. From the mass executions following the 1979 Revolution to the downing of Flight PS752, from the brutal suppression of peaceful protests and the killing of tens of thousands of people to assassinations carried out abroad, the Islamic regime in Iran has left a long trail of violence. Among its victims are dozens of Canadians, from Zahra Kazemi and Kavous Seyed-Emami to the victims of Flight PS752 and those who lost their lives during the atrocities of January 8 and 9 of the past year.

The Prime Minister speaks of reopening an embassy while, even today, the families of the victims of Flight PS752 continue to face intimidation and pressure from the Islamic regime in Iran. Had Canada used the legal mechanisms available to it before the International Court of Justice to hold the regime accountable, these families would be living under safer conditions. Instead of standing firmly with its own citizens, Canada now appears prepared to pursue a policy of making concessions to those responsible for terror.

The Association of Families of Flight PS752 Victims will vehemently oppose any decision to reopen the embassy of this criminal regime in Canada. The tyrannical conduct of the Islamic regime in Iran and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has not changed in recent years or even in recent months. On the contrary, their violence and aggression have intensified both inside and outside Iran, including the active surveillance and intimidation of dissidents and the families of victims living in Canada. We firmly believe that any engagement with this regime under these circumstances amounts to an endorsement of its conduct and serves to legitimize its ongoing abuses. We categorically reject such an approach.

We also encourage the Prime Minister to attend memorial ceremonies for the victims. Doing so may help him better understand the suffering endured by the survivors of the Islamic regime in Iran’s crimes and remind him of his responsibility, as Canada’s Prime Minister, to pursue truth and justice for Canadian citizens.
Until then, we will never forget, nor shall we ever forgive those who murdered our loved ones.