Ottawa’s foreign ministry says it erred in issuing statement advising Canadians to leave the Middle East

Ottawa’s foreign ministry said it erred when it issued a public statement Friday advising all Canadians in the Middle East to leave if possible as a conflict between Israel and Iran escalates.The Department of Global Affairs in a Saturday statement instead told Canadians to consult its official travel advisories for countries and other areas in the region, which currently warn Canadians to “avoid all travel” to Israel, the West Bank, Gaza Strip, as well as Iran, Iraq, Syria and Yemen.