Will Trudeau have the stomach to take on Iran?

The United States, seeing no other choice and noting Iran’s complete breach of its nuclear commitments and obligations, triggered the snapback — a mechanism adopted by the Security Council to guard against Iranian non-compliance with the 2015 nuclear deal. London, Paris, Berlin, Beijing and Moscow, however, refuse to recognize its legitimacy, arguing that the U.S. forfeited its right to trigger the snapback when it pulled out of the agreement in 2018. With the dispute inside the Security Council unresolved, U.S. President Donald Trump opted to enforce the snapback with an executive order threatening U.S. sanctions against Russia and China if either attempts to transfer weapons to Iran in the months and years ahead.

The Canadian government is frequently caught between its economic and cultural ties with both Europe and the United States. But Ottawa’s interests regarding Iran are far more aligned with Washington’s. The prime minister should pledge to enforce all the restored sanctions on Iran — even if Moscow, Beijing, London, Paris and Berlin disagree.

Ottawa’s policy toward Iran has largely been a failure under Trudeau’s government. The regime has paid no price for murdering 57 Canadian-Iranians when it shot down Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752. Trudeau has been unwilling to designate the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps as a terrorist organization and has not investigated the regime’s alleged network of spies on Canadian soil. Trudeau’s meekness toward the regime at home is mirrored abroad.

The Trudeau government has pursued a multilateral policy of “engagement” with the Islamic republic that fails to account for its regional aggression, development of dangerous conventional military and nuclear technologies, and support for terrorism. The Canadian government is also reluctant to call out the regime for its horrendous human rights abuses toward the Iranian people.

Canada must reclaim its legacy as a country that holds Iran accountable. Supporting the snapback of UN sanctions would be a way for Trudeau to do just that. Recognizing the snapback means supporting a series of common-sense restrictions on Iran: demanding the regime halt its threatening nuclear and missile-related activities while calling on all nations to neither transfer arms to Iran or support its ever-advancing missile program. Trudeau, of course, can and should go farther by sanctioning those involved in the shooting down of the Ukrainian jet, the recent murder of international wrestler Navid Afkari and other human rights abuses.

Canada, which is unable to invest and trade with Iran due to U.S. sanctions, has no significant economic incentives to pursue a soft policy toward the regime. Instead of following Europe’s failed policies and morally wrong treatment of the Iranian people, Ottawa should be on the right side of history and join the U.S. in applying maximum pressure against the Islamic republic.

Alireza Nader is a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, where Richard Goldberg, a former National Security Council official, serves as a senior advisor. Follow them on Twitter @AlirezaNader and @rich_goldberg.