Grievously Offending the Iranian Republic

"The move by the Canadian government contradicts claims about the normalization of relations between the two countries and compensation for the extremist policies of the country's former government."
"[The Ontario Superior Court of Justice] political ruling [is] a new step in the direction of the hostile policies of the former extremist government of Canada, which was felled by popular vote."
"Any normalization in the two countries' diplomatic ties requires a radical revision of the extremist and wrong politics of the former Canadian government, such as the violation of Iran's juridical immunity."
Hossein Jaberi Ansari,  spokesman, Iranian foreign ministry

David Silverman / Getty Images    Friends of Marla Bennett grieve around her coffin after the 24-year-old resident of San Diego, California, was killed by a Palestinian bomb at Jerusalem's Hebrew University July 31, 2002

It is a classic, that statement coming hot off the dragon's mouth, proclaiming that Canadian justice is extremist and wrong. No less so that the former Conservative-led government of Prime Minister Stephen Harper had no idea what they were doing when they declared the Islamic Republic of Iran persona-non-grata in a civilized country, disgusted by the diplomatic manoeuvring and political machinations of a country known internationally to be the fount of Islamist terrorism.

Iran was, and is, in fact, on a watch list for terrorist activities, well earned by its funding and support and training of its proxy Islamist terrorist militia, Hezbollah whose operatives were trained by the Iranian Republican Guard al Quds corps. Both of which, along with other dread Iranian-supported Shiite militias have been assisting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to violently assault Syrian Sunni civilians in a killing field that has claimed up to 500,000 victims over the five long years of conflict.

Iran has long since lost its standing as a civilized country with a long and honoured heritage of culture second to none in the Middle East. The advent of Islamist fundamentalism with all the ills that accompany it, not the least of which is violent jihad and hostility toward other nations and religions and sects within Islam, saw its pinnacle in the Iranian Revolution. Iran now doesn't bother looking back at its once-honoured place as a civil nation; it is too fully engrained in the Islamist view of the mullahs, entitled to rule the Middle East and conquer all objections from other nations it threatens.

The Ontario court decision holding Iran financially responsible to be accountable to victims of terrorist groups which it sponsors has enraged the Republic. Diplomacy "at the official level" had been re-initiated by the new Liberal government, for the purpose of restoring sundered diplomatic relations. Where four years earlier the then-government invited Iran to remove its delegation from Ottawa, leaving the missions both there and in Toronto void of Iranian diplomats, with Iran expelling Canadian diplomats from Tehran in exchange.

Iran bridles with sanctimonious rage at the fact that its non-diplomatic holdings in Canada can now be legally dissolved and the financial proceeds offered to victims of Iran's proxies' terrorist attacks; compensated as deemed proper by North American legal proceedings. Five court proceedings had been launched in Ontario by victims of eight Hamas and Hezbollah attacks, seeking enforcement of a dozen American judgements against Iran.

Justice will be done, thanks to the decision by Justice Glenn Hainey upholding the judgements and in so doing awarding millions' worth of Iranian assets and bank accounts in Toronto and Ottawa. Iran remains on Canada's list of state sponsors of terrorism. This is the state that has once again imprisoned an Iranian-Canadian. Iranian officials can rail to their hearts' content over the "baseless allegations" of Iran's "so-called support for terrorist groups", which the Republic labels a "pretext" for seizing Iranian assets in North America.

So be it. If the issue derails 'normalization' of diplomacy between the two countries, all the better.