Canadian Foreign Minister John Baird has warned Iran that the Islamic republic only has two to three months to demonstrate to the West that it is committed to resolving the crisis surrounding its atomic program through negotiations, declaring that talks are “nearing the end.”

Baird rejected suggestions, which have recently been aired in some corners of the Western diplomatic and foreign policy community, suggesting that the country should be given a honeymoon period in the aftermath of the election of conservative cleric Hassan Rouhani as president. Baird pointedly noted that, as a former top Iranian nuclear negotiator, Rouhani “doesn’t need to have any time to read up on the files.”

Canada, which has been one of Israel’s staunchest friends in the international diplomatic arena, cut ties suddenly with Iran last year, calling the regime in Tehran “the most significant threat to global peace and security in the world today.”

Brisk and bleak in regards to Iran’s intentions in the wake of the presidential elections there, Baird stressed that the nuclear program “is not controlled by the prime minister. It’s controlled by the supreme leader [Ali Khamenei] and those around him.”

Rouhani’s work as a negotiator on behalf of the Iranian regime became an issue during the recent election. Echoing comments he had explicitly made as far back as 2004, the then-candidate boasted that he had used talks to split Western allies and give the regime time to expand its nuclear program.

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