Anand says Canada’s focus in Iran war is on unblocking Strait of Hormuz

OTTAWA – Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand said on Tuesday that she agrees with Prime Minister Mark Carney that the United States’ attack on Iran violates international law — and so does Iran’s blockade of the crucial Strait of Hormuz shipping route.

“The focus now is to ensure that Canada continually stands with international legal principles and abides by international law,” she told reporters in a virtual call from Ankara, the capital of Turkey.

Anand is travelling to both Turkey and the United Kingdom this week to discuss the situation in the Middle East with her counterparts.

“There should be no weaponization of international shipping lanes, and prevention from countries around the world having the resources that they need.”

Roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil and gas exports are shipped through the Strait of Hormuz, which connects the Persian Gulf to the Arabian Sea via the Gulf of Oman.

Iran’s blockade of the waterway has caused fuel prices to spike and has disrupted access to food sources for some of the world’s poorest people.

U.S. Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth insisted this week the strait is technically not blocked.

“The only thing prohibiting transit in the straits right now is Iran shooting at shipping. It is open for transit, should Iran not do that,” he told reporters Friday.

Anand said the blockade violates United Nations rules and that ships from around the world have a right to use the strait.

“This is a very important point that I’m working with countries from the Gulf region and around the world on. And I will be seeking support from them on this very key point of international law,” she said.

The minister added “Canada has no intention to be involved in the offensive military action” in the region and Ottawa is still pushing for diplomacy to end hostilities.

Anand previously would not say whether Washington broke international law by bombing Iran, until Carney said that it appeared that was indeed the case.

Anand would not say Tuesday whether U.S. President Donald Trump is attempting to coerce American allies by linking their lack of support for his war in Iran with Washington’s support for the NATO military alliance.

NATO has reported shooting down several missiles launched from Iran toward Turkish airspace. Turkey is a NATO member and is covered by the alliance’s collective defence clause, Article 5, which says an armed attack on one NATO member is to be treated as an attack on all.

Anand said Canada “stands foursquare behind NATO allies” if they choose to invoke Article 5 but noted that Turkey has not made such a request.

Anand’s visit to Ankara comes as the city prepares to host the NATO alliance annual meeting in early July. Carney is expected to attend that meeting.

Anand said there is “positive momentum in the relationship between Canada and Turkey across the board, and certainly in terms of energy, trade, defence and security, and people-to-people ties.”

In early 2024, Canada lifted arms export restrictions on Turkey, which Ottawa had imposed in 2019 in response to reports that the country had redirected Canadian technology to Azerbaijan.

Azerbaijan was engaged at that time in what Bob Rae, then Canada’s ambassador to the United Nations, described as ethnic cleansing of Armenians. Ottawa also suggested that Turkish drones with Canadian sensors might have been used in Libya and Syria.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 17, 2026.