Canada is closing its embassy in Iran and expelling the remaining Iranian diplomats in Canada, Foreign Minister John Baird has said in a statement.

The Canadian government cited Iran's support for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and failure to comply with UN inspectors as the reason for the move.

Mr Baird also said that Iran had engaged in "racist anti-Semitic rhetoric and incitement to genocide".

Iranian diplomats have been given five days to leave Canada.

"Canada views the government of Iran as the most significant threat to global peace and security in the world today," said Mr Baird's statement.

He also said that Iran had shown "blatant disregard" for the protection of diplomatic personnel.

"Under the circumstances, Canada can no longer maintain a diplomatic presence in Iran," he added.

Ottawa also designated Iran as a state-sponsor of terrorism and included it among a list of countries subject to travel warnings for Canadian citizens.----

Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-19522744