CTV QP: U.S. airstrike on Iranian nuclear sites a tactic to ‘buy time': Lawson
Former Chief of the Defence Staff (Ret'd) Gen. Tom Lawson says he is 'not surprised' that President Trump's plan to attack Iranian nuclear sites.
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Canada News.Net
26 minutes ago
- Canada News.Net
Canada warns of retaliation without Trump agreement
OTTAWA, Canada: Canada may boost its counter-tariffs on steel and aluminum imported from the U.S. if a comprehensive trade agreement with President Donald Trump is not finalized within the next 30 days, Prime Minister Mark Carney announced this week. Earlier this month, Trump raised import duties on these metals from 25 percent to 50 percent, prompting the industry to call for Canada to respond officially. This decision could negatively impact Canada, the largest supplier of steel and aluminum to the U.S. Carney stated that he had reached a mutual agreement with Trump to aim for a new economic and security deal by July 21. He emphasized that, based on the progress achieved in the trade negotiations, Canada would modify its existing counter-tariffs on U.S. steel and aluminum products by that date. While Carney did not immediately respond to Trump's recent tariff increase, he expressed the desire to see advancements in talks focused on establishing a stronger economic and security alliance. Earlier this year, on March 13, Canada enacted 25 percent retaliatory tariffs on steel products worth C$12.6 billion and aluminum products worth C$3 billion. Furthermore, Canada is introducing new procurement policies that allow Canadian producers and trading partners with tariff-free access to compete for federal contracts involving steel and aluminum. Carney also indicated that Canada intends to create new tariff-rate quotas equal to 100 percent of 2024 levels for steel imported from nations without free trade agreements, aiming to stabilize the domestic market and prevent detrimental trade shifts. Approximately 90 percent of Canada's steel and aluminum exports go to the U.S., while Canada consumes about 20 percent of U.S. steel exports and 50 percent of U.S. aluminum exports, according to the Royal Bank of Canada, underscoring the importance of this trade relationship. Under Carney's leadership, Canada is advancing numerous infrastructure projects, including those related to defense and housing, which will significantly increase the demand for steel and aluminum. "We are committed to supporting the industry by prioritizing Canadian steel and aluminum in federal projects," Carney stated during a press conference.
Globe and Mail
an hour ago
- Globe and Mail
As Iranians take shelter or flee, some also hope for the end of a repressive regime
It was 3 a.m. when a deafening noise shattered the silence of homes in the affluent Saadat Abad district in northern Tehran earlier this month. Windows shook. Children woke up crying. Panicked residents ran into the street. Abideh, a mother of two young children, thought their building was collapsing. Everyone was screaming, she said. Explosions kept going off. She ran to the rooftop and saw a nearby building on fire. That was the night of Israel's first attack on the Iranian capital. With her ten-year-old son and six-year-old daughter, Abideh was forced to leave her home and seek shelter with relatives on the outskirts of the city. 'We're basically homeless now. We don't even know where we'll be tomorrow,' Abideh told The Globe and Mail by phone last week. The Globe is using only first names for the Iranians who were interviewed to protect their security at a time of growing unrest. As Israeli air strikes continue to pound the city of almost 10 million, many residents of Tehran have chosen to flee. Long lines at gas stations, skyrocketing food prices, and severe medicine shortages have only worsened the anxiety. Abideh says that the sounds of the attack on her neighbourhood are still alive in her mind. 'My hands shake, my heart races. The fear hasn't left me,' she said. 'Every night, after my kids fall asleep, I sit and think about the future … a future with no sense of safety.' But inside basements, parking garages and other places where people are looking for safety, it's not just fear that echoes, but also voices rooted in decades of pain. Abideh said that in the shelter where she and her family have been staying, there are women praying for the death of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, whose regime has executed their sons. 'Some said maybe this war would finally bring down the government,' Abideh said. She hears chants ringing out in the streets, even in the dead of night: 'Death to the dictator!' 'An end to 46 years of tyranny!' Despite their overwhelming fear, Abideh said people are still clinging to hope: 'Hope for change. Hope that maybe all this pain will finally wake people up.' The main cause of the unrest and the current atmosphere of repression, she said, is the Islamic Republic regime, which has spent taxpayers' money on its proxy forces, pushed the country into isolation and ultimately paved the way for a foreign attack. 'The Iranian people do not want war with anyone; rather, they seek peace with all nations — including Israel,' she said. Only way to topple Iran's regime is through popular movement, Shirin Ebadi says Opinion: Regime change in Iran would lead to chaos But fear among the Iranian population is not confined to Tehran. Reza, a 23-year-old international relations student in Isfahan, the country's second-largest metropolitan area, described a city hollowed out by fear, with deserted streets and shuttered stores. 'It's like the city has died. Everyone's afraid. No one knows what's going to happen tomorrow.' For Reza, life has turned into a sleepless nightmare. 'Every moment, I'm waiting for a missile to hit. I can't sleep from the stress,' he told The Globe last week. What haunts him even more is the uncertainty. 'We don't even know what's hidden in our neighbourhoods. Maybe that grey wall near my house is hiding a drone factory. Who knows?' Like Abideh, Reza also speaks of an end — not just to war, but to dictatorship. 'People hate this regime. Without internal co-operation, Israel couldn't have struck so precisely.' He says that now, more than ever, there's a strange, cautious hope among Iranians. 'There are rumours everywhere. That Khamenei is dead. That tomorrow the revolution begins. Even if they're not true, just the fact these rumours spread shows how desperately people want this regime gone.' In streets that just days ago were full of life, silence now dominates. Storefronts are dark. Sirens wail sporadically. Mothers whisper prayers in the shadows. 'Today the roads are empty,' Reza said. 'Shops are closed. People are anxious. Worried about a future they can't see – and don't know will ever come.'
Winnipeg Free Press
2 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Americans react to US strikes on Iran with worry as well as support for Israel
BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — One of Layton Tallwhiteman's earliest memories was watching the news at his uncle's house in Montana in 2003 and seeing the U.S. bomb Baghdad to launch the war in Iraq. Recollections of that war — waged in part to find weapons of mass destruction that did not exist – flooded back for Tallwhiteman after President Donald Trump ordered weekend bombing strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities amid its escalating conflict with Israel. The administration has indicated it wants to avoid getting pulled into all-out war. Tallwhiteman, who grew up on the Northern Cheyenne Reservation southeast of Billings, is skeptical. 'Their idea is to eliminate the threat. Like Bush said in Iraq, 'We're going to eliminate the threat. We're going to find weapons of mass destruction and eliminate them.' Did that work the way he planned? No, obviously it didn't,' said Tallwhiteman. The 30-year-old driver for a food distribution company said he usually votes Libertarian, but backed Democrat Kamala Harris over Trump last year. Across the U.S. on Sunday, Americans expressed a mixture of support, apprehension and confoundment at the bombings, which officials said caused severe damage to Iran's nuclear sites. Administration officials said the strikes left room for Iran to return to negotiations over its nuclear program. Yet if the conflict spirals, it could test Trump's foreign diplomacy skills and also his support at home. 'It had to be done' B-2 bombers that participated in the weekend strikes returned home to Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri on Sunday. Nearby, retired Air Force veteran Ken Slabaugh said he was '100% supportive' of Trump's decision and the military personnel who carried it out. Slabaugh said Iran has showed resistance to negotiations over its nuclear program for decades, a problem that he said Trump inherited. Iran can't be trusted, Slabaugh said, nor allowed to acquire nuclear weapons. 'It simply had to be done,' he said of the strikes, adding that he's now concerned for members of the military around the world. 'I'm proud of the guys and the gals that are doing the work out there. Nobody in the world does this like we do, and we have the freedom and liberty we enjoy because of that,' Slabaugh said. In Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, Andrew Williams, 18, said he was surprised by the timing of the attack given that many Republicans had expressed opposition to U.S. involvement in the Israel-Iran war. Still, he thought it was necessary if Iran was building nuclear weapons. 'If we are able to get rid of that, that is something we should do,' Williams said. Robert Wallette of Billings said Trump had 'good reason' to conduct the bombing as a demonstration of American support for Israel. 'Iran's evil, evil people. They hate Americans,' he said. Concern about conflict spinning out of control Wallette, 69, a retired contract specialist at the federal Indian Health Service, said he hated Trump when the Republican was first elected because of his arrogant style. His perspective started to shift after Trump moved the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. In 2024, Wallette voted for Trump based on his promises to curb illegal immigration, putting him among the 60% of voters backing Trump last year in Yellowstone County, which includes Billings. Notwithstanding his support, Wallette was unsure if Trump can avoid the U.S. getting drawn into a deeper conflict with Iran. 'Other countries are getting involved and this may be out of his control,' he said. Kent Berame, 32, of Davie, Florida, said it was a little outrageous for Trump to go rogue and approve the attack without explicit support from Congress. He said he doesn't agree with the United States supporting Israel's recent attacks on Iran. 'There's concern that we're putting troops in danger,' said Berame, a Democrat who owns his own marketing company. 'And obviously there's a retaliatory response toward all of our bases over there.' Berame said it's frustrating that the U.S. might be increasing hostilities with Iran just a few years after finally ending the war in Afghanistan. 'I don't want to see any U.S. soldiers in harm's way or in danger,' he said. Back in Billings, Trump voter Patty Ellman said she worries about the U.S. getting sucked into another extended conflict. 'We have enough going on in America to get into other countries' wars. Let's just take care of us right now,' she said. Ellman, a 61-year-old who stepped in as caregiver for her ex-husband after he suffered a stroke, said the U.S. should retaliate if attacked, but otherwise stay out of Iran's conflict with other countries. 'That's their business,' she said. 'We need to worry about Americans and how we're going to survive and are we going to have Social Security.' ____ With contributions from David Fischer in Davie, Florida; Nicholas Ingram in Knob Noster, Missouri; and Mingson Lau in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware.
