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Horak, who retired recently, said one obstacle is standing in the way: the passage in 2012 of Canada’s Justice for Victims of Terrorism Act, which allows victims of terrorism to sue countries that are listed as supporters of terrorism.

Among other things, the law paved the way for last year’s Ontario Court of Appeal ruling that upheld the seizure of US$1.7 billion in private Iranian assets by a group of American plaintiffs whose loved ones were killed in terrorist attacks sponsored by the Iranian regime.

“It was a stupid law. And it’s still a stupid law,” Horak told a meeting of the Canadian International Council in Ottawa this week.

“But we’re stuck with it.”

Lost in all of the information about the reasons why, was the real reason ... It was the Justice for Victims of Terrorism Act, frankly. That's the reason; that still exists

Horak, who was the Canadian foreign ministry’s director of Middle East relations in 2012, said the three major federal parties supported the law.

Then foreign affairs minister John Baird abruptly announced the Tehran embassy closure in September 2012, accusing Iran of being a state sponsor of terrorism and saying it was for the safety of Canadian diplomats.

Though he cited the attack on the British embassy in Tehran 10 months earlier that saw an angry mob storm the diplomatic compound, Baird and the Conservative government declined to say whether Canadian diplomats faced any imminent threat.

“Lost in all of the information about the reasons why, was the real reason … It was the Justice for Victims of Terrorism Act, frankly. That’s the reason; that still exists,” Horak said.