Carney says he talked about Iran, NATO in a wide-ranging security call with Trump
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Prime Minister Mark Carney and US President Donald Trump discussed NATO, Iran and the broader security situation in the Middle East on Wednesday in what the prime minister described as a “constructive discussion.”
Speaking at a press conference before Parliament’s recess on Thursday, the prime minister said the president called him and the talks sometimes involved senior White House officials, including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff.
A reading from the Prime Minister’s Office, shortly after the discussion on Wednesday, only referred to the talks on NATO. The conversation took place on the same day as the secretary general of the Western alliance, Mark Rutte, met with Trump in the Oval Office to prepare for the leaders’ meeting next month in Ankara, Turkey.
“We had a long conversation with him,” Carney said, adding that only part of what they talked about was related to NATO. “The rest has to do with the situation in Iran and the Middle East in general, both current and structural issues. It’s been a very constructive discussion, those things we’re working on together. I think those should be left until they come to fruition.”
Prime Minister Mark Carney says he had a long conversation with US President Donald Trump on Wednesday about issues including NATO, Iran and the ‘broader Middle East.’ When asked by a reporter about the US admitting Canada is hitting its NATO spending targets, Carney said ‘Canada is pulling its weight now.’
Canada and other allies are committed to self-defense, independent maritime missions to enforce mining permits and ensure commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran closed during the war with the United States and Israel. One of the long-term structural proposals that Canada is involved in includes the establishment of an independent Hormuz International Maritime Authority to prevent future economic blockades.
Additionally, Canada has been actively coordinating G7 pressure to ensure that Iran does not block the verification of its uranium. It is pushing for full access by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to the most damaged enrichment sites.
Carney also revealed that he spoke with Trump about how Canada is working with other NATO members to protect the Arctic.
During a question and answer session with journalists, he emphasized Canada’s increase in defense investment and predicted that the country will spend four percent of gross domestic product on defense by 2029 (2.5 percent directly on the military and 1.5 percent on defense infrastructure).
That’s the year the coalition is scheduled to formally review the spending measure.
