Canada–Iran relations
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Prior to 1955, Canadian Consular and Commercial Affairs in Iran were handled by the British Embassy. Foreign relations and diplomatic ties between Canada and Iran began with the founding of an Iranian mission in Ottawa in 1956, and a Canadian mission in Tehran in 1959. The Canadian mission was granted embassy status in 1961.
The most significant event took place during the Iranian revolution of 1979, when the Canadian embassy hid six American diplomats after the violent takeover of the U.S. embassy. In January 1980, the Americans were secretly smuggled out of Iran using Canadian passports. In parallel, all Canadian diplomats left to avoid retaliation from the Iranian regime.
As of September 2012, there are no formal diplomatic relations between the Islamic Republic of Iran and Canada Canadian consular and passport services are provided through other Canadian diplomatic missions in other countries in the Middle East while Iran maintains an interests section at the Embassy of Oman in Washington D.C
The government headed by PM Justin Trudeau which took office in 2015, has reportedly been reviewing relations with Iran and, like most countries, lifted most of its economic sanctions following the Iran nuclear agreement in July 2015.
Formal relations between the two nations continued uninterrupted from 1955 until 1980. When Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini's Iranian Revolution drove the Shah from the country in 1979, the Canadian Embassy scrambled to evacuate the 850 Canadian workers in Iran while the embassy staff remained. Six American diplomats took refuge in the Canadian embassy after Iranian student protesters stormed the U.S. embassy, and the Canadian government, in coordination with the Central Intelligence Agency, safely evacuated them from the country using Canadian passports with forged Iranian visas. This covert rescue became known as the "Canadian Caper", and while it improved Canada's relations with the United States, Canada–Iran relations became more volatile. The embassy staff were quickly evacuated for fear of retribution against Canadians, and the embassy was closed in 1980.
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Wikipedia