Question Period Note: Iran's Nuclear and Ballistic Missile Programs

Canada has serious concerns over Iran's nuclear ambitions given its history of nuclear proliferation but believes the nuclear deal (JCPOA) can constrain Iran's nuclear program.

• Canada supports an effective rules-based international order and believes that the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), when fully implemented, is essential to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapons capability.

• While imperfect, the JCPOA has helped to curb a real threat to international peace and security. Canada is concerned about Iran's recent actions, and has urged Iran to respect its JCPOA commitments and fully cooperate with the International Atomic Energy Agency.

• Canada regrets the US decision to withdraw from the JCPOA, which subjects Iran's nuclear program to a rigorous and unprecedented international verification regime by the International Atomic Energy Agency.

• Canada condemns Iran's ballistic missile program and launches, which are destabilizing for the region. Canada maintains sanctions related to Iran's nuclear and ballistic missile programs.

• We will continue to work closely with our allies and partners to hold Iran to account for its nuclear program, its ballistic missile program, and its destabilizing regional activities.

In 2015, the UNSC members and Germany reached agreement with Iran on the JCPOA, effective January 2016. In return for significant sanctions relief by the EU, US and UN, Iran accepted long term restrictions on its nuclear program, and extensive verification by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), commitments that constrain Iran's ability to produce a nuclear weapon.

The US considers Iran the greatest threat to regional security, given Iran's nuclear and ballistic missiles programs and its regional activities. On May 8, 2018, President Trump announced the US withdrawal from JCPOA, citing Iran's continued maligned behaviour and flaws in the deal and has since re-imposed unilateral sanctions. In reaction to the US policy, Iran has incrementally stopped meeting most of its commitments under the JCPOA. The EU, France, Germany and the UK are seeking to preserve the JCPOA, which they see as vital for European national security. While the contrast between the US and European approaches has caused tension in transatlantic relations, the gap between them is shrinking due to Iranian actions in the region, including its attack on Saudi oil facilities on September 14, 2019, and its decisions to stop meeting most of its commitments under the JCPOA.

The IAEA has confirmed that Iran has stopped meeting most of its commitments under the JCPOA, and has reported on Iran's increased level of uranium enrichment and heavy water stockpiles, as well as increased deployment of new centrifuges. Since 2014, Canada has been the lead contributor to the IAEA's increasingly vital JCPOA monitoring and verification in Iran, having contributed C$15M, including C$2M in October 2019.

MISSILES: UNSC Resolution 2231 endorsed and provided an implementation framework for the JCPOA, including placing restrictions on the transfer of goods or technologies that could assist Iran's ballistic missile program until 2023. Iran periodically tests ballistic missiles, and Canada and like-minded remain concerned about these tests; Iran claims its missiles are for conventional payloads, however, some of its missiles would also be capable of delivering a nuclear warhead.

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