Carney says Trump's 'annihilate' remark on Iran is war language
The Canadian prime minister's comment comes as US and Iranian officials hold talks on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly
Published
Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said Donald Trump's threat to "annihilate" Iran amounts to war language, a rare public rebuke from a close US ally.
The remark lands in the middle of active diplomacy. Steve Witkoff has called talks with Iran "constructive and promising," with mediators continuing their work at the UN General Assembly. Iran's foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, met Witkoff and Iran has called for an end to the war across all "resistance" fronts, while shipping through the Strait of Hormuz remains severely disrupted. Iran has tied any reopening of the strait to the lifting of a US naval blockade.
Trump has also warned the US may strike Pickaxe Mountain in Iran, saying it may soon be too late to act. Iran's Revolutionary Guard has said the country will defend itself if the US strikes the site. Brent crude settled near $99 a barrel as Trump separately called the Iran talks "productive."
Carney's criticism of Trump's language undercuts the diplomatic momentum Witkoff and other envoys have built in recent days at the UN. Escalatory rhetoric from the White House risks unsettling talks just as both sides have begun engaging, and could harden Iran's conditions for reopening the Strait of Hormuz, adding to near-term geopolitical risk.