Dear Editor:
As a Canadian-Iranian citizen who has lived in Canada for more than 20 years, I am grateful for the closure of the Iranian embassy here.
On the surface, this may create some inconvenience for the Canadian-Iranians who still travel to Iran and need to renew their passports every now and then. There are also newly immigrated professionals who are disappointed as they needed the embassy's assistance in acquiring certain documents from their original university back in Iran. The recent closure means they would have to physically go back to Iran, which needless to say has its own perils in order to obtain those documents.
Having said that, for the inconveniences created, we have no one to blame but the current Iranian government.
To me and the rest of the community who are more concerned about the national security and safety of Canadian citizens of all ethnic backgrounds including Iranian-Canadians, this was the right action. The Iranian embassy in Canada with more diplomats and staff than needed for the work they were doing, had clearly other intentions here than issuing and renewing passports. Their connection with Carleton University's student group and their efforts to sponsor events at York University are cases in point.
To those many Iranian Canadians who have come to Canada to specifically escape the violence and repression of the current regime of Iran, the closure of the embassy is a positive step towards national safety and security.
Monika Kazazi West Vancouver
