Mr. Speaker, Iran continues to ignore its international obligations. It continues to ignore the United Nations. Its nuclear program is moving forward unabated. Iran continues to abuse the fundamental human rights of the Iranian people and, most importantly, it continues to ignore its responsibilities under the Vienna Convention to protect foreign diplomats.
As such, we have taken the difficult but necessary decision to remove our staff from Tehran and to expel Iranian diplomats here in Ottawa. We are also pleased to announce today that Italy has agreed to act as Canada's protecting power in Tehran and, as always, we strongly implore Canadians against travelling to Iran.