After U.S. strikes in Iran, Torontonians with family in Iran, Israel worry for loved ones
Hundreds protest outside U.S. consulate in Toronto following military strikes
U.S. strikes on Iran this weekend are reverberating in Toronto, as with some in the city fear for their loved ones in the Middle East while others protested outside the U.S consulate in reaction.
On Saturday, the U.S. military attacked key Iranian nuclear sites in Fordo, Natanz and Isfahan, the latest development in an escalating conflict between Israel and Iran.
Mina Morshed, a Toronto woman who has family in Tehran, told CBC TV's Rosemary Barton Live that her parents and sister are in Tehran and she spoke to them a few days ago.
She said she has tried to tell them that they are not alone.
"I am worried about my parents, family, friends," Morshed said.
Those with family in Israel have similar concerns.
Laurent Attali, a Toronto-born Montrealer now living in Etobicoke, said he has been trying for days to get his two daughters and their families, who live near Tel Aviv, out of Israel.
He said he bought them two sets of plane tickets that were cancelled by the airlines.
Attali said the latest plan is for them to go by bus from Tel Aviv to the Amman airport in Jordan, but it's not a good solution, as Amman is considered hostile to Israelis because of Palestinian supporters who live there.
He said he thinks the Canadian government could charter a boat or plane from Israel to get Canadians people out.
Now, Attali said he has been glued to the television to figure out where the bombs are being dropped in Tel Aviv to see if the sites are near where his family and friends live.
"For us, since that evening, we have been 10 to 15 hours a day [watching] the TV. We are all the time at the TV," he said.
Protestors gather outside U.S. consulate Sunday
Meanwhile, hundreds of people gathered outside the U.S. consulate on Sunday afternoon to protest U.S. military action in Iran.
Organizers of the "Hands Off Iran" rally said in a media advisory that the demonstrators condemn Western involvement in the conflict, and are also calling on the Canadian government to sanction Israel and to implement an arms embargo on Israel.
Parsa Golesorkhi, an organizer of the rally, said he has been watching his hometown of Tehran get bombed in what he called an "unprovoked, illegal and criminal act of aggression" by Israel and now, the United States.
"We are here first of all to condemn this aggression against our people — and we are not just as Iranians, but standing with our allies from different communities, from the Palestinian community, from the Jewish community," Golesorkhi said.
Noah Shack, CEO of the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, based in Toronto, said attacks on Iranian nuclear sites are justified given the danger that they pose to the world.
"The Iranian nuclear program poses a threat not just to Israel but to the broader Middle East and indeed the world," he said.
"This is a dangerous regime and the world is safer without them having access to nuclear weapons."
Prime Minister Mark Carney, in a post on X, said on Sunday that the U.S. military action was "designed to alleviate" threats posed by Iran, but the situation in the Middle East remains "highly volatile."
"Stability in the region is a priority," Carney said. "Canada calls on parties to return immediately to the negotiating table and reach a diplomatic solution to end this crisis."
With files from Lane Harrison, Rozenn Nicolle, Andreane Williams, Canadian Press, Associated Press