OTTAWA — Foreign Affairs Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne says the safety of Canadians in the Middle East is the government’s “paramount concern” after an American airstrike killed a top Iranian general. Gen. Qassem Soleimani was the head of Iran’s elite Quds Force, and was killed last night in Baghdad, Iraq. “We call on all sides to exercise restraint and pursue de-escalation.”THE CANADIAN PRESS Minister of Foreign Affairs Francois-Philippe Champagne is pictured at headquarters in Ottawa on Dec. 20, 2019. A spokesman for Champagne didn’t answer a question from The Canadian Press about whether Canada had been consulted on the strike, or when Canada was informed. This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 3, 2020.

Source: Huffington Post January 03, 2020 18:00 UTC