Canada helped US citizens obtain travel documents during Iran conflict

An improvised consular arrangement in Abu Dhabi

Canada assisted American citizens seeking to leave the Middle East during the conflict with Iran, including by providing a location in the United Arab Emirates where US personnel could distribute passports. The federal government confirmed its broader support on May 27, 2026, while declining to verify all details reported about the Abu Dhabi operation.

Semafor reported that US diplomats approached their Canadian counterparts after American facilities in the region came under attack and US officials lacked an available site for handing out newly issued or renewed passports. No formal US-Canada agreement covers consular cooperation of this kind, but the Canadian embassy agreed to accommodate the operation, according to an unnamed senior US State Department official cited by Semafor.

US consular personnel used the Canadian embassy’s check-in counter in a lobby connected to Abu Dhabi Mall, the report said. Americans were contacted separately and directed there to collect their documents. One UAE resident told Semafor that she had submitted her passport for renewal before the conflict and waited weeks before receiving a March 17 email telling her to visit the mall. She said about a dozen families were waiting when she arrived.

The disruption followed a State Department order for non-emergency personnel to leave the UAE and the closure of the US Embassy in Abu Dhabi and consulate in Dubai. Semafor reported that Iran struck the US Embassy in Riyadh and a parking area outside the Dubai consulate, while US embassies in Bahrain and Kuwait also closed amid threats.

Nearly 1,000 Americans were ultimately assigned places on State Department charter flights departing the UAE, according to Semafor. Thousands of others used commercial flights, while some remained in the country as missile defences intercepted most incoming projectiles.

Global Affairs Canada said its principal responsibility was assisting Canadians overseas, but confirmed that it had also supported people from several partner countries during the conflict. Department spokesperson Thida Ith said Canada offered seats to citizens of the United States, United Kingdom, Japan and other countries. Canada also coordinated with Australia, New Zealand, Britain, the US, France and Japan at important border crossings with Iran.

Ith linked that coordination to established arrangements among the Five Eyes partners for emergency management and security. Canada does not have a specific bilateral consular-services agreement with the United States, although the department said it works with close security partners during emergencies.

Thomas Juneau, an international relations professor at the University of Ottawa who studies Iran, told Global News that operational cooperation between Canadian and American officials had generally continued despite political tensions. He characterized such assistance as routine in ordinary circumstances and argued that refusing it because of disputes with Washington would have been counterproductive. He nevertheless questioned how long those working relationships could remain insulated from tensions under the Trump administration.