Engaging Iran Australian and Canadian Relations with the Islamic Republic Engaging Iran Australian and Canadian Relations with the Islamic Republic Robert J. Bookmiller Gulf Research Center i_m(#ÆAk pA'v@uB Dubai, United Arab Emirates (_}A' !_g B/9lu( s{4'1q {xA' 1_{4 b|5 )smdA'c (uA'f'1_B%­'=¡(/ *_D |w@_> TBMFT!HSDBF¡CEudA'sGu( XXXHSDBFeCudC­'?B uG_GAE#­'c`}A' i_m(#ÆAk pA'v@uB9f1s{5 )smdA'c (uA'f'1_B%­'cAE/ i_m(#ÆAk pA'v@uBª E#'Gvp*E#'B!v,¢#'E#'1's{5%­''tDu{xC)/_9%_(n{wGL­i_m(#ÆAk pA'v@uAc8mBmA' , ¡dA'E#'c>EuA'&_{3A'B¢#'c}{3'(E#'c j{w*E#'cGuG{y*E#'c A"'E#'c CEudA%'eC_@c {3EE#'{4¢#_(9_,ud{3' i_m(#ÆAk pA'v@uBB`{wB¡}.0%'9{ymA'E/B`d{wA'¡>ismd{wd{3 *4#/b_dA{w{wdA'¡A_A'?uA' k pA'v@uBuCc,E9)1Eu{zA_(u`*­E @1_{xA'!'1"'9u`*1's{5%­''tD¡>)/1'==A'uA'f_,E i_m(#ÆA Gulf Research Center 187 Oud Metha Tower, 11th Floor, 303 Sheikh Rashid Road, P. O. Box 80758, Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Tel.: +971 4 324 7770 Fax: +971 3 324 7771 E-mail: [email protected] Website: www.grc.ae First published 2009 i_m(#ÆAk pA'v@uB Gulf Research Center (_}A' !_g B/9lu( Dubai, United Arab Emirates s{4'1q {xA' 1_{4 b|5 )smdA'c (uA'f'1_B%­'=¡(/ © Gulf Research Center 2009 *_D All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in |w@_> a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, TBMFT!HSDBF¡CEudA'sGu( XXXHSDBFeCudC­'?B mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the Gulf Research Center. ISBN: 9948-434-66-8 uG_GAE#­'c`}A' i_m(#ÆAk pA'v@uB9f1s{5 The opinions expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) alone and )smdA'c (uA'f'1_B%­'cAE/ do not state or reflect the opinions or position of the Gulf Research Center. i_m(#ÆAk pA'v@uBª E#'Gvp*E#'B!v,¢#'E#'1's{5%­''tDu{xC)/_9%_(n{wG­i_m(#ÆAk pA'v@uAc8mBmA' ,L ¡dA'E#'c>EuA'&_{3A'B¢#'c}{3'(E#'c j{w*E#'cGuG{y*E#'c A"'E#'c CEudA%'eC_@c {3EE#'{4¢#_(9_,ud{3' i_m(#ÆAk pA'v@uBB`{wB¡}.0%'9{ymA'E/B`d{wA'¡>ismd{wd{3 *4#/b_dA{w{wdA'¡A_A'?uA' k pA'v@uBuCc,E9)1Eu{zA_(u`*­E @1_{xA'!'1"'9u`*1's{5%­''tD¡>)/1'==A'uA'f_,E i_m(#ÆA By publishing this volume, the Gulf Research Center (GRC) seeks to contribute to the enrichment of the reader’s knowledge out of the Center’s strong conviction that ‘knowledge is for all.’ Abdulaziz O. Sager Chairman Gulf Research Center About the Gulf Research Center The Gulf Research Center (GRC) is an independent research institute located in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE). i_m(#ÆAk pA'v@uB The GRC was founded in July 2000 by Mr. (_}A' !_g B/9lu( Abdulaziz Sager, a Saudi businessman, who s{4'1q {xA' 1_{4 realized, in a world of rapid political, social b|5 and economic change, the importance of )smdA'c (uA'f'1_B%­'=¡(/ pursuing politically neutral and academically *_D sound research about the Gulf region and |w@_> disseminating the knowledge obtained as TBMFT!HSDBF¡CEudA'sGu( XXX HSD BF widely as possible. The Center is a non- eCudC­'?B partisan think-tank, education service provider and consultancy specializing in the Gulf region. The GRC seeks to provide a uG_GAE#­'c`}A' better understanding of the challenges and i_m(#ÆAk pA'v@uB9f1s{5 prospects of the Gulf region. )smdA'c (uA'f'1_B%­'cAE/ i_m(#ÆAk pA'v@uBª E#'Gvp*E#'B!v,¢#'E#'1's{5%­''tDu{xC)/_9%_(n{wG­i_m(#ÆAk pA'v@uAc8mBmA' ,L ¡dA'E#'c>EuA'&_{3A'B¢#'c}{3'(E#'c j{w*E#'cGuG{y*E#'c A"'E#'c CEudA%'eC_@c {3EE#'{4¢#_(9_,ud{3' i_m(#ÆAk pA'v@uBB`{wB¡}.0%'9{ymA'E/B`d{wA'¡>ismd{wd{3 *4#/b_dA{w{wdA'¡A_A'?uA' k pA'v@uBuCc,E9)1Eu{zA_(u`*­E @1_{xA'!'1"'9u`*1's{5%­''tD¡>)/1'==A'uA'f_,E i_m(#ÆA For Sebastian May his affection for these three great countries continue to grow Contents i_m(#ÆAk pA'v@uB (_}A' !_g B/9lu( Acknowledgments ....................................................................................... 13 s{4'1q {xA' 1_{4 b|5 )smdA'c (uA'f'1_B%­'=¡(/ Introduction ................................................................................................ 15 *_D |w@_> TBMFT!HSDBF¡CEudA'sGu( Chapter 1: Australia and the Shah’s Iran ..................................................... 19 XXXHSDBFeCudC­'?B Chapter 2: Australia and the Islamic Republic ............................................ 39 uG_GAE#­'c`}A' Chapter 3: Canada and the Shah’s Iran ....................................................... 83 i_m(#ÆAk pA'v@uB9f1s{5 )smdA'c (uA'f'1_B%­'cAE/ Chapter 4: Canada and the Islamic Republic .............................................. 99 i_m(#ÆAk pA'v@uBª E#'Gvp*E#'B!v,¢#'E#'1's{5%­''tDu{xC)/_9%_(n{wG­i_m(#ÆAk pA'v@uAc8mBmA' ,L Chapter 5: Australia, Canada and Iran’s Nuclear Program ........................¡dA'E#'c>EuA'&_{3A'B¢#'c}{3'(E#'c j{w*E#'cGuG{y*E#'c A"'E#'c CEudA%'eC_@c {3EE#'{4¢#_(9_,ud{3'147 i_m(#ÆAk pA'v@uBB`{wB¡}.0%'9{ymA'E/B`d{wA'¡>ismd{wd{3 Bibliography .............................................................................................. 171 *4#/b_dA{w{wdA'¡A_A'?uA' About the Author .....................................................................................k pA'v@uBuCc,E9)1Eu{zA_(u`*­E @1_{xA'!'1"'9u`*1's{5%­''tD¡>)/1'==A'uA'f_,E183 i_m(#ÆA Acknowledgments I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the numerous individuals and institutions which have made this work possible. In particular Carolyn Connor, Senior Reference Officer at the National Archives of Australia, was exceptionally helpful in walking me through the official declassification process that, in the end, allowed access to over 20 files from the pre-1977 period of Australian-Iranian relations. The staffs of the Parliamentary Library of Australia, the National Library of Australia and the Australian Institute of International Affairs, Canberra deserve mention as well. On the Canadian side, Mary Halloran, Historian at the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, provided me with an internal Foreign Affairs background paper on Canada’s establishment of diplomatic ties with Iran which was pivotal in my understanding of these events. Additionally, the librarians at the Library and Archives Canada, University of Toronto’s Robarts Library and Millersville University’s Ganser Library were very kind in quickly locating hard-to-find items. I would also like to acknowledge the generous financial support from Millersville University’s Faculty Grants Committee, Dean John Short and Dr. Richard Glenn and the Department of Government. Without this funding, a research trip to Canberra would not have occurred. I am extremely grateful to the Australian and Canadian ambassadors and cabinet ministers who generously gave of their time and memories. Throughout the research process, I was fortunate to have the opportunity to interview almost every Australian and Canadian diplomat who headed his country’s mission in Iran since the time of the Revolution. All officials interviewed provided me with a depth of information and understanding impossible to gain from books or articles. This project is truly the beneficiary of their collective expertise. Most of the diplomats and policymakers are listed by name in the bibliography and they agreed to direct attribution in the body of this work; however, a few requested anonymity in their remarks. Most importantly of all, I would like to thank my colleague and wife, Dr. Kirsten N. Bookmiller. She not only offered nearly two years of encouragement for this project (while she was working on her own book) and assumed extra parental duties in tending to the care of our son Sebastian, but she also served as sounding board and editor of the thoughts which follow here. In the end, of course, responsibility for all the thoughts, judgments (and misjudgments) contained within this volume remain my own. Robert J. Bookmiller Introduction In 2008, Australia and Canada both observed political milestones in their relations with Iran. For Canberra, the year represented four decades since the establishment of its embassy in Tehran, while Ottawa marked 50 years of formal diplomatic ties with the same. Yet the anniversaries passed with little notice in all three capitals. This shared official silence is indicative of the complicated and often troubled links which Australia and Canada currently have with the Islamic Republic (IRI). This study explores an often overlooked aspect of the West’s interaction with the IRI, that of Canadian and Australian foreign policy toward Iran, both before and after the 1979 revolution. It is based largely on archival research and interviews with diplomats posted to Tehran as well as policymakers stationed in Canberra and Ottawa. Most scholarly and popular attention has focused on the United States-Iranian relationship (or the lack thereof ) or diplomatic dynamics between European Union members and the Islamic Republic. Yet measures taken by Washington or its European counterparts ultimately place Canada and Australia in difficult diplomatic positions. The most recent case in point has been American and EU-3 (France, Germany, UK) responses to Tehran’s nuclear gamesmanship, especially the application of trade and financial sanctions, which pose considerable political and economic challenges for Canberra and Ottawa. Kim Richard Nossal notes that Australia and Canada have “open, highly trade-dependent economies, with a traditional reliance on primary resource exports.