Israel’s leaders on Sunday called on other nations to follow the example of Canada which severed its diplomatic ties with Iran, closing down its embassy in Tehran and giving Iranian diplomats in Canada five days to leave its soil.
Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu said that Harper’s (Canadian Prime Minister) decision sent a clear message to Iran and the entire world.
“One week after the display of anti-Semitism and hatred in Tehran (at the Non- Aligned Movement’s conference), the government of Canada is taking a moral step of the highest order,” Netanyahu said.
“Canada’s determination is very important in order for the Iranians to understand that they cannot continue their race after nuclear weapons. This practical measure needs to serve as an example of international responsibility for the global community.
“It is important that the international community join in this pressure by setting Iran clear red lines,” Netanyahu said.
“Canada has proven once again that morals come before pragmatism, Canada has demonstrated that policy must reflect principles and values,” Israeli President Shimon Peres said in a statement.
“I thank my colleague Governor- General David Johnston, Prime Minister Stephen Harper and the whole nation of Canada for taking a stance based on the highest morals and hope that other nations will see Canada as a moral role model,” he added.
“The diplomatic isolation of Iran is an important step for the security and stability of the entire world.”
“Iran is a source of global terror, a blatant violator of human rights, and Iran aims to dominate the entire Middle East,” Peres stressed.
The closure of Ottawa’s Tehran mission represents the most significant incident between Iran and another country since the ransacking of the British Embassy in November 2011.
Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said the Canadian move was a “continuation of anti-Iranian policies” by the Conservative government, which has long had poor relations with Tehran.
“The hostile behavior of the current racist government in Canada in reality follows the policies dictated by the Zionists and the British,” the Iranian Mehr news agency quotedthe spokesperson as saying.
Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Sunday that nothing Iran does in response to Canada's severing of diplomatic ties would surprise him.
Harper said Canadian diplomats were recalled because of Iran's "capacity for increasingly bad behaviour."
"So, nothing would surprise me. But that is all the more reason why it's essential that our Canadian personnel no longer be present," Harper told reporters on the final day of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Vladivostok, Russia.

EJP