Bloomberg: Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Iran’s nuclear research threatens global security and called for an end to a post-election “crackdown,” saying further international pressure may be needed.
By Theophilos Argitis
July 10 (Bloomberg) — Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Iran’s nuclear research threatens global security and called for an end to a post-election “crackdown,” saying further international pressure may be needed.
“The world is sending a very clear message on Iran and that message is urgent: Unless the situation improves dramatically and soon, further action will be required,” Harper told reporters today in L’Aquila, Italy, after a meeting of the Group of Eight industrialized nations.
The G-8 leaders refrained from backing new sanctions over Iran’s nuclear program and election violence, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said today after hosting the meeting. The group agreed that that Iran shouldn’t be allowed to obtain nuclear weapons.
The United Nations Security Council has already passed several rounds of sanctions against Iran because of its refusal to suspend uranium enrichment and open its nuclear program to more scrutiny.
Canada summoned Iran’s top diplomat in Ottawa this week to express concern over the detention of Canadian journalist Maziar Bahari and to demand his immediate release. Harper last month called for Iran to investigate allegations of election fraud.
Authorities used force to suppress demonstrations after hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets last month to protest President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s June 12 re-election. The opposition said the vote was rigged, an allegation he denies.
“Canada strongly condemns Iran’s abuse of human rights, particularly its brutal crackdown on its own citizens, as well as the detention of foreign journalists and diplomatic staff,” Harper said today. “Iran’s nuclear program represents a serious threat to global security.”
