OTTAWA -- Canada's foreign affairs minister says Canada is calling for restraint on all sides in the Middle East, following a U.S. airstrike that killed a top Iranian general.
The Pentagon confirmed early Friday morning it was behind an airstrike in Baghdad, Iraq that killed Gen. Qassem Soleimani, who was the head of Iran's elite Quds Force.
In a statement Friday, François-Philippe Champagne said, “We call on all sides to exercise restraint and pursue de-escalation. Our goal is and remains a united and stable Iraq."
Champagne said the safety and well-being of Canadian citizens, troops, and diplomats in Iraq and the region is the government's "paramount concern."
There are 850 Canadian Forces members deployed in Iraq to fight the ISIL terrorist group and to train Iraqi forces.
Champagne's statement went on to say, “Canada has long been concerned by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' Qods Force, led by Qasem Soleimani, whose aggressive actions have had a destabilizing effect in the region and beyond.”
With files from The Canadian Press.
