Canadian officials in the Middle East scrambled to help American citizens trying to escape the region after U.S. President Donald Trump launched his war against Iran, the federal government confirmed Wednesday.
The assistance, revealed by the U.S.-based publication Semafor, was provided after American officials did not have a facility for U.S. citizens to pick up new or renewed passports required to leave the region.
According to the report, Canadian officials in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) gave U.S. consular staff space at the embassy’s check-in counter to get American citizens the paperwork required to leave the region.
While Global Affairs Canada (GAC) said its focus is on providing consular assistance to Canadians abroad, the department told Global News that it also assisted citizens from multiple regions during the current conflict in the Middle East.
“Canada offered seats to citizens of several partner countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan and others. Canada also coordinated closely with partners — including Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, the United States, France and Japan — to support consular efforts at key border crossings with Iran,” GAC spokesperson Thida Ith wrote in a statement.
“The collaboration is supported by longstanding arrangements among Five Eyes partners that strengthen coordination on emergency management and security, contributing to more effective preparedness and response during crises.”
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The Canadian co-operation with U.S. efforts to evacuate its citizens comes at a time when relations between Ottawa and the Trump administration are beyond strained.
Canada has agreements with allied countries to share consular services in emergencies, but not with the U.S. Despite the lack of a formal agreement, GAC said assistance is given in collaboration with close security partners.
The department did not confirm specific details of the Semafor report, which quoted an unnamed U.S. State Department official as saying the Americans were “stuck” because they had “all these passports” printed in the U.S. but nowhere to distribute them to their citizens.
The report suggested the episode was evidence the U.S. State Department was “unprepared” for what the Trump Administration called “Operation Epic Fury,” the now-months-long war with Iran, which has killed more than 3,000 Iranians and 13 U.S. service members.
The conflict has also sent oil prices skyrocketing and caused turmoil in the global economy due to Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
Thomas Juneau, an international relations professor at the University of Ottawa who studies Iran, said that despite Trump’s rhetoric, U.S. and Canadian officials generally continue to enjoy a good working relationship on the operational level.
“In a normal world, this (consular assistance) would be routine. It would be noteworthy, because it’s a good news story, but in a non-Trumpian world this would be absolutely routine,” Juneau said in an interview.
“The other way to look at it would be to reverse it. For Canada to decline to help because of all the rhetoric, and not just rhetoric but consequences coming out of Washington … would be deeply counterproductive.”
Juneau said it’s an open question, however, how long those strong operational ties between officials can last with Trump at the helm.
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