Canada’s Carney says Trump didn’t inform him beforehand about the strikes on Iran, but he supports the war ‘with some regret’

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney stated on Wednesday that he backed the strikes against Iran “with a degree of regret,” noting they stood as a stark instance of a world order that’s breaking down.

Carney delivered remarks at the Lowy Institute—a Sydney-based global policy think tank—during the Australian segment of his trade-centered three-country tour, which started in . On Thursday, he will address Australia’s Parliament before flying to Japan on Friday.

“From a geostrategic perspective, dominant powers are increasingly acting without constraints or respect for international norms or laws, while others bear the consequences. Right now, the most extreme effects of this disruption are unfolding in real time across the Middle East,” Carney said.

In his first comments since the war erupted on Feb. 28, the Canadian prime minister emphasized his country had not been notified in advance of the .

“We were not given advance notice, nor were we asked to participate,” Carney told reporters traveling with him in Australia. “At first glance, these actions appear inconsistent with international law.”

He said determining whether U.S. and Israeli airstrikes violated international law was “a judgment for others to make.”

Carney noted that Canada supports efforts to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon and from threatening global peace and security. The two nations have had no diplomatic relations for 15 years due to reported human rights abuses in Iran, and Canada designated the Iranian Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist entity last year.

“We are actively engaging with the world as it is, not passively waiting for the world we wish it to be. But we also hold this position with some regret, as the current conflict is another example of the international order’s failure,” he stated.

Despite decades of U.N. efforts, “Iran’s nuclear threat remains, and now the United States and Israel have acted without engaging the U.N. or consulting allies including Canada,” he added.

Carney expanded on themes he laid out in January at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, in that drew widespread attention. He argued the world order is undergoing a rupture, with the old norms of the rules-based system being erased.

Canada and Australia aim to enhance cooperation in critical minerals, artificial intelligence and .

Carney said both Canada and Australia are rich in critical minerals and have collaborated to build “the largest mineral reserve held by trusted democratic nations.”