MNA – Iran’s deputy FM Ghashghavi said the Canadian government has voiced eagerness to reestablish ties with Iran and the Islamic Republic is also seeking to have dignified relations with the North American country.


Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister for Consular, Parliamentary and Iranian Affairs Hassan Ghashghavi made the remark in a radio interview on Saturday while discussing the holding of Iran’s 12th presidential election abroad.

According to him, the elections will be held in 103 countries, while Saudi Arabia, Sudan and Canada have been excluded from the list due to lack of diplomatic ties.

While Iran was not too concerned with placing ballot boxes in Saudi Arabia and Sudan due to the small number of Iranians living there, Canada – currently home to 400,000 Iranians – was a completely different story.

“We made a lot of efforts to make it possible for the Iranians living in Canada to take part in the election, but unfortunately due to lack of diplomatic ties and some technical issues, we have been unable to do so,” he said.

Ghashghavi went on to add that given the fact that only one week remains until the election, it will be highly unlikely that the two countries would arrive at an agreement on this issue.

Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Wednesday that Iranian expatriates in Canada wishing to vote for the upcoming presidential election on May 19, may choose to travel to a city in the US to cast their vote.

Ghashghavi further said, “the previous Canadian government severed ties with Iran unilaterally and without any logical reason behind it. The then Canadian administration was extremist, anti-Iranian and pro-Zionist, but the new one has voiced interest in re-establishing relations with Iran and we are also seeking to maintain dignified ties with this country.’