Canada did not recall staff shortly before Iranian embassy strike

After a bombing leveled the Iranian consular annex in Damascus, social media users claimed the nearby Canadian embassy was evacuated because it knew about the strike beforehand. This is false; the embassy suspended operations in Syria in 2012 — and Global Affairs Canada told AFP there were no diplomats present at the time of the strike, which Iran has blamed on Israel.

“All staff at the Canadian Embassy in Damascus were recalled half an hour before the Israeli strike,” says an April 5, 2024 X post from the account “S p r i n t e r F a c t o r y,” which frequently shares misinformation. “This is not a coincidence.”

Other posts on X, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok have shared the same claim. Some include an aerial photo of the neighboring Canadian and Iranian embassies in the Syrian capital.

Screenshot of an X post taken April 11, 2024

Screenshot of an Instagram post taken April 11, 2024

Air strikes hit the Iranian embassy’s consular annex in Damascus on April 1, killing at least 16 people, including seven Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps members. Israel said it would not comment on the attack, but Iran vowed retribution for the raid — which analysts say could mark another lurch towards a larger regional conflict in the Middle East beyond the devastating campaign in the Gaza Strip.

Google Maps shows Canada’s embassy in Damascus sits next to its Iranian analog (archived here). Canadian media reported the structure sustained damage in the April 1 strike.

Screenshot from Google Maps taken April 11, 2024, with elements highlighted by AFP

However, Global Affairs Canada told AFP that the embassy suspended operations in March 2012 — and that there were no diplomats in Damascus at the time of the raid.

“Global Affairs Canada did not receive any notification from any parties,” spokesman Grantly Franklin said of the strike in an April 11 email.

An agency press release (archived here), local media reports and internet archives confirm the embassy was not operational before the strike. According to the embassy’s webpage, Canada’s diplomatic mission in Lebanon provides limited consular assistance in Syria (archived here).

CBC reported that a local employee who takes care of the building was not present at the time of the strike.

Tensions have risen since the April 1 bombing, with Iran threatening reprisal and Israel saying it will return any attacks on its territory. After taking a firmer tone on Israel’s war in Gaza, the United States restricted the movement of its diplomats in Israel over security fears but still promised “ironclad” support amid the rising tensions with Iran.

Read more of AFP’s reporting on misinformation in the Middle East here.