In an “open letter to the Iranian people” published by a Canadian newspaper on June 21, Baird said that ‘Canada has been listening to the voices of all Iranians who voted for hope and a brighter future in the country’s presidential election.’
Notably, he congratulated the Iranian people on the outcome of the 11th presidential election.
This is while, on June 16, he made rude and interfering comments about the presidential election in Iran, describing it as “effectively meaningless.”
Baird has been under mounting pressure from the opposition as well as Iranians for his comments.
On June 18, Iran’s Foreign Ministry Spokesman Abbas Araqchi slammed Baird’s comments and said, “Remarks of this type have been made by the Canadian foreign minister several times, and I have come to the conclusion that one should doubt his (Baird’s) political judgment.”
Iran's June 14 election was marked by a high voter turnout, an overwhelming 72.7 percent, according to Iran’s Interior Ministry.
Nearly 50.5 million Iranians were eligible to vote in the presidential election.
