Iran’s attacks on Gulf ships ‘unacceptable’ and ‘unjustified’: Foreign Minister Anand

JEDDAH – Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand called it “unacceptable” that Iran has launched attacks on commercial ships in recent days as it attempts to tighten its grip over the Strait of Hormuz.

The comments follow new airstrikes by the United States against Iran early Thursday, with Tehran firing at Kuwait and Qatar.

The escalating hostilities have upended a June ceasefire agreement aimed at ending the war the United States launched against Iran earlier this year. 

Speaking with reporters in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on Thursday after meeting with the country’s foreign minister, Anand said Canada stands alongside Gulf countries as Iran lashes out against them.

She said ceasefires are always fragile, but it’s “completely unjustified” for Iran to attack civilian targets, such as Saudi tankers.

“Iran’s attacks on civilian vessels are completely unjustified, they violate the MOU and they should not be allowed to stand without reprehension from the global community,” she said.

Prime Minister Mark Carney told reporters at the NATO summit Wednesday that Iran has been acting “irresponsibly” and described the U.S. response as “appropriate.”

U.S. President Donald Trump said Wednesday that the recent Iranian attacks targeting ships transiting the strait, a major global trade choke point, effectively restarted hostilities.

Trump said the ceasefire is now “over,” and he personally doesn’t want to talk to the Iranians about ending the conflict.

“I don’t want to deal with them,” Trump said at the NATO summit on Wednesday. “There’s something wrong with them. We said, ‘Go and do your funeral stuff,’ and instead of that, they start shooting rockets at ships.”

Funeral processions this week drew mass crowds for the Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in February in a strike when the war began.

NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte told Trump that the U.S. retaliation against Iran was “absolutely necessary” and a “very strong response.”

An Iranian official accused the U.S. of launching an airstrike Thursday targeting the area around Iran’s sole nuclear power plant. Explosions were also reported elsewhere in the country during the afternoon

Attacks on ships in the strait this year have sent oil prices into dramatic swings and slashed the availability of key goods like fertilizer.

Anand, who is visiting Saudi Arabia at the same as the prime minister, said Canada will be “better positioned to offer support” in securing the strait when a permanent ceasefire is in place, such as providing expertise in demining.

“A concrete measure is being here in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia today in the middle of attacks that are occurring in the Strait of Hormuz,” she said.

“The feeling on the ground here in Saudi Arabia is very much one about seeing Canada as being a supportive partner in these very difficult times.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 9, 2026.

— With files from The Associated Press