Private meeting at UN between Trudeau team and Omani officials led to Hoodfar's release by Iran

Trudeau's pattern of directly investing himself in consular cases appears to bear fruit for 2nd time

Iranian-Canadian professor Homa Hoodfar arrives in Muscat airport, Oman, after being released by Iranian authorities on Monday. (Oman News Agency/Associated Press)

A quiet meeting just off the main floor of the United Nations General Assembly a week ago may have been the turning point in Canada's attempts to secure the release of Iranian-Canadian Homa Hoodfar from a prison in Iran.

It happened in the corner of a large meeting room just after U.S. President Barack Obama finished his final speech to the UN. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, his top political staff and foreign policy advisers held a private "pull aside" meeting with the foreign minister of Oman and a small delegation of Omani officials.

The prime minister had reached out to Yusuf bin Alawi bin Abdullah 11 days earlier on Sept. 9 by phone to ask for Oman's help in securing Hoodfar's release from Iran. But this was their first face-to-face meeting, and it appears to have played a critical role in securing the Concordia professor's release.

Link:

http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/trudeau-oman-hoodfar-release-1.3779967