Canadian-Iranians respond to the U.S.-Iran peace deal with mixed reaction

Members of the iranian language diaspora in Toronto feature mixed reactions to the U.S.-Iran public security sell, with some expressing ease that ordinary citizens will no longer live under active bombardment, but also skepticism that the new agreement will hold the Iranian government accountable. 

U.S. President Donald Trump said he signed an agreement with Iran on Wednesday to end the war. U.S. Officials say the deal calls for Tehran to dilute its stockpile of highly enriched uranium, while Washington would waive sanctions on the country — immediately allowing Iran to sell its oil freely in a major concession from the U.S. 

The memorandum of understanding, which was set to be formally signed on Friday, would open the Strait of Hormuz toll-free for two months and affirm a commitment to Lebanon's territorial integrity in the face of Israel's invasion against the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group. Technical negotiations were postponed on Friday after Iranian and American officials did not travel to Switzerland for scheduled talks.

“There were sizable community members that thought the way to get rid of the Islamic regime was through international intervention, … but unfortunately, that has not resulted in the way they wanted,” Hariri said. “For those people, obviously this MOU is very negative.”

The agreement was “shocking” for many Iranian-Canadians, said Shervin Akhlaghi, who lived in Iran until moving to Toronto at age 13. He is conflicted about the peace deal — relieved for family members on the ground, but disappointed the conflict didn’t devastate the Islamic Republic. 

“Unlike a lot of Iranians, I didn’t really want [U.S.] boots on the ground,” Akhlaghi said. “Me and a lot of people I’ve talked to, we wanted the civilian population to be armed so we can rise up against the regime ourselves.”

Many members of the diaspora agree that the regime cannot be reformed, Akhlaghi said, and view forceful resistance as the only way to free the Iranian people from what they say have been decades of oppression.

The agreement is more than a temporary ceasefire, but may not be an end to the war, with core issues that propelled initial U.S. Intervention still unresolved, said Akash Maharaj, a senior fellow at the Munk School of Global Affairs and Public Policy at the University of Toronto.

“As a result of this war, many of those … democratic activists in Iran, have either been killed by American bombs or are in hiding. And in many parts of the country, their movement has become discredited because it is associated with the American bombing campaign.”

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The peace agreement pledges that the U.S. And its regional partners will develop a $300-billion US plan for the “reconstruction and economic development" of Iran, but Akhlaghi worries the funds will be misused by the Iranian government.

Both Akhlaghi and Hariri are waiting to see how the tenuous agreement unfolds. 

“I have always dreamed to see this regime gone,” Hariri said. “We have been in waiting mode for so long. Obviously, I am relieved that there is no bombing civilian infrastructures and cities, but still we have yet to see … how people get relief.”

The deal must involve the permanent termination of all military operations, Maharaj said, including conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, which occupies much of Lebanon. 

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“If that conflict is not resolved, it's entirely possible, indeed likely, that flare-ups and conflicts between Iran and Israel could make peace between Iran and the United States impossible,” he said.

The two groups agreed Friday to halt military operations in southern Lebanon, officials said, after a heavy exchange of fire killed 47 people in Lebanon and four Israeli soldiers. Neither Israel nor Hezbollah immediately confirmed the truce to The Associated Press.

Journalist

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