Iranian, Canadian Diplomats Hold ‘Positive’ Talks in Tehran

In a statement on Monday, Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qassemi declared that a Canadian delegation, which had earlier visited Iran in May, recently travelled to Tehran and held talks with Iranian foreign ministry officials.

He said the recent visit was made as part of bilateral talks held between Iranian and Canadian foreign ministries within the past two years.

Qassemi noted that the negotiations were held with a positive approach and were aimed at exchanging views about technical and specialized issues.

He also noted that the two countries’ foreign ministers had earlier met each other on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York.

Back in May, the Canadian delegation visited Tehran to hold talks with Iranian officials to facilitate the restoration of diplomatic ties, the first such visit since the previous Canadian government closed its embassy in Tehran nearly five years ago.

In September 2012, the administration of former Canadian Prime Minister, Stephen Harper, severed diplomatic contacts with the Islamic Republic, citing, among other pretexts, “continued threats from Iran to Israel”.

The Italian Embassy has been handling Canada’s interests in Iran since then.