After the meeting , Prime Minister Stephen Harper, issued a statement Tuesday about the regime in Iran, its handling of the disputed June presidential elections and its subsequent violent crackdown against protesters:
“Our position on Iran is clear – the recent actions by the Iranian authorities are unacceptable to us and inconsistent with any tolerable standard of human rights,” Harper said in the statement. “Iran must stop using violence against its own people, release political prisoners and journalists who have been unjustly detained and allow both domestic and international media to report freely. Our government also stands proudly with the people of Iran and with members of our own Persian community who are demanding a full and transparent investigation into allegations of electoral fraud during June’s Presidential vote.’‘
