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Russia Bans Entry to Nearly 600 Canadians Including Trudeau and Freeland

Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks about the death of Guy Lafleur in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada April 22, 2022. (Reuters)
Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks about the death of Guy Lafleur in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada April 22, 2022. (Reuters)
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Russia Bans Entry to Nearly 600 Canadians Including Trudeau and Freeland

Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks about the death of Guy Lafleur in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada April 22, 2022. (Reuters)
Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks about the death of Guy Lafleur in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada April 22, 2022. (Reuters)

Russia said on Thursday it was imposing entry bans on nearly 600 Canadian nationals including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for what it called "hostile actions" by the country's leadership.

Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was also among 592 people barred from traveling to Russia in the largely symbolic move.

It formed part of a pattern of Russian retaliation against countries which have provided political and military support to Ukraine. On Wednesday, Russia imposed a similar travel ban on hundreds of British members of parliament.

"We emphasize these kinds of sanctions are imposed out of necessity by the Russian side and exclusively in response to the hostile actions of the Canadian leadership," the Russian foreign ministry said in a statement.

The ministry last week announced sanctions against 61 Canadian officials, journalists and military experts for supporting what it called the "Russophobic" stance of the Canadian administration.

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Grossi Wants to Meet with Iran’s Pezeshkian ‘at Earliest Convenience’

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi speaks to the media at the Dupont Circle Hotel in Washington, US, March 15, 2023. (Reuters)
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi speaks to the media at the Dupont Circle Hotel in Washington, US, March 15, 2023. (Reuters)
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Grossi Wants to Meet with Iran’s Pezeshkian ‘at Earliest Convenience’

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi speaks to the media at the Dupont Circle Hotel in Washington, US, March 15, 2023. (Reuters)
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi speaks to the media at the Dupont Circle Hotel in Washington, US, March 15, 2023. (Reuters)

Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Grossi announced he intends to visit Tehran through a letter he addressed to Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian.

Iranian Mehr Agency reported that Grossi sent a congratulatory message to the Iranian president-elect, which stated: “I would like to extend my heartfelt congratulations to you on your election win as President of the Islamic Republic of Iran.”

“Cooperation between the International Atomic Energy Agency and the Islamic Republic of Iran has been at the focal attention of the international circles for many years. I am confident that, together, we will be able to make decisive progress on this crucial matter.”

“To that effect, I wish to express my readiness to travel to Iran to meet with you at the earliest convenience,” Iran’s Mehr news agency quoted Grossi as saying.

The meeting – should it take place - will be the first for Pezeshkian, who had pledged during his election campaign to be open to the West to resolve outstanding issues through dialogue.

Last week, American and Israeli officials told the Axios news site that Washington sent a secret warning to Tehran last month regarding its fears of Iranian research and development activities that might be used to produce nuclear weapons.

In May, Grossi expressed his dissatisfaction with the course of the talks he held over two days in Iran in an effort to resolve outstanding matters.

Since the death of the former Iranian president, Ibrahim Raisi, the IAEA chief refrained from raising the Iranian nuclear file, while European sources said that Tehran had asked to “freeze discussions” until the internal situation was arranged and a new president was elected.