Iranian-Canadians in Saskatchewan react to ceasefire talks and escalating conflict

Jeffery Tram · CBC News

· Posted: Jun 24, 2025 2:31 PM EDT | Last Updated: 6 hours ago

As tensions betwixt Iran and Israel proceed to escalate, Iranian-Canadians successful Saskatchewan are watching the ever-changing concern with a substance of fear, sorrow and, for some, cautious hope.

A tentative truce brokered by U.S. President Donald Trump collapsed aboriginal Tuesday, conscionable hours aft some Iran and Israel had agreed to a ceasefire to extremity astir 2 weeks of conflict.

Pooyan Arab, enforcement manager of the Saskatoon Iranian Cultural Association, said the ongoing developments person stirred aggravated and analyzable feelings.

"These are times of precise conflicting emotions," Arab said. "There was immoderate alleviation successful seeing however targeted immoderate of [the Israeli strikes] are. But there's besides a batch of symptom knowing that, nevertheless targeted an onslaught is, there's bound to beryllium casualties from the civilian population."

Arab said staying successful interaction with household members backmost location has been inconsistent, owed to Iran's strict censorship and filtering of connection tools.

"These days it's precise hard to get successful interaction with radical successful Iran. The authorities has fundamentally done a precise strict filtering of the internet, and the telephone strategy isn't moving decently either," helium said. "There's a batch of accent progressive with this deficiency of contact."

He said many successful the Iranian assemblage successful Saskatoon are disquieted not lone astir household members' safety, but what could hap if the warring stops.

"From our erstwhile acquisition with the Iranian government, we cognize erstwhile thing similar this happens, their adjacent measurement aft the struggle stops is to fundamentally commencement a terrible crackdown connected the population," helium said.

WATCH | Trump swears successful beforehand of cameras portion voicing choler astatine Israel, Iran:

'It's much terrifying if the warfare ends without authorities change'

In Regina, Shima Aghaaminiha is watching developments with a antithetic benignant of intensity. Born and raised successful Tehran, she said she immigrated to Canada conscionable implicit 4 years agone under compulsory exile by the Islamic regime.

Aghaaminiha said the existent struggle whitethorn beryllium an accidental to region the authorities she fled.

"I consciousness hopeful that it would beryllium the extremity of Islamic regime," she said. "I anticipation each the overseas countries besides enactment authorities alteration successful Iran."

She said the biggest menace would beryllium a instrumentality to the presumption quo without addressing the authorities itself.

"It's much terrifying if the warfare ends without authorities alteration — it is adjacent worse," she said. "Because the Iranian federation sacrificed their life. A lot."

Aghaaminiha said Iranians person agelong opposed the regime's actions.

"It's an ideological warfare that Islamic authorities is waging against a country," she said. "It's not the volition of immoderate Iranian radical to beryllium progressive successful a warfare with immoderate of our neighbours."

She said she hopes the exiled Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi is capable to usher the state toward democracy.

"Most of the Iranian nation, we spot him," she said.

WATCH | Iranian surviving successful exile successful Sask. expresses fearfulness and caution arsenic struggle continues successful Middle East: 

Ceasefire wasn't negotiated successful immoderate accepted sense, adept says

Colleen Bell, an planetary relations adept astatine the University of Saskatchewan, said the truce was ne'er a factual thing.

"Trump announced the truce betwixt the parties without really pursuing a negotiated truce," Bell said Tuesday connected Saskatoon Morning. "He benignant of made the announcement and past benignant of called the parties to archer them what helium had decided."

Bell said this falls acold abbreviated of the standards for a meaningful diplomatic agreement.

"I deliberation it's just to accidental that the truce itself is not truly a classical truce, in the consciousness that it's not truly a negotiated statement betwixt the parties successful immoderate benignant of accepted sense."

She said Israel's archetypal airstrikes — which targeted atomic and subject sites, and killed Iranian officials — came conscionable days earlier scheduled U.S.-Iran atomic talks.

"Many radical would reason that Israel wanted to benignant of upset the pome cart because it truly would similar to spot authorities illness successful Iran," Bell said.

Trump's motivations may beryllium much idiosyncratic than strategic, Bell said.

"We each cognize that Donald Trump is precise funny successful trying to get himself the Nobel Peace Prize," she said.

Getting backmost to negotiating table

Bell warned that the illness of diplomacy could propulsion Iran to wantonness planetary treaties and prosecute atomic weapons successful secret.

"It's arguable that Iran is present incentivized to retreat from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty," she said. "And arguably arsenic well, Iran is incentivized present to secretly make atomic weapons, due to the fact that states who are extracurricular of the Western fold but person developed atomic weapons secretly person survived. Think Pakistan, North Korea, Israel."

She said that adjacent if Iran's facilities were damaged successful U.S. and Israeli strikes, "it's not imaginable to destruct Iran's cognition of the atomic technology."

Ultimately, Bell said, what's missing is simply a state that will act arsenic a neutral arbitrator.

"This contented requires diplomacy betwixt the parties that's authentic and detailed, not conscionable tweeted astir connected the fly."