Extract from
PMQs
(Halesowen and Rowley Regis)
(Con): Iran continues to use all methods, including an increasingly
sophisticated cyber-capability, to destabilise the middle east and
pursue its ambition to become a regional superpower in the middle
east. Does the Prime Minister agree that a cyber-armed Iran is as
dangerous as a nuclear-armed Iran and that we need to do all we can
and that is necessary with our allies to combat the increasing
threat from Iran in cyber-space?
The Prime Minister: My hon. Friend is right to raise concerns
about Iran’s destabilising behaviour in the region. Our objective
continues to be to work with our international partners to find
diplomatic solutions and to de-escalate tensions.
My hon. Friend is also right to raise cyber-capability. We have a
dedicated capability to act in cyber-space through our national
offensive cyber programme, and last year we offered our offensive
cyber-capabilities in support of NATO operations.
My hon. Friend talks about working with others: we were the first
nation to do that, and we will continue to ensure that we have
effective offensive cyber-capabilities that can be deployed at a
time and place of our choosing across the full range of
international threats.
Extract from PMs
statement on G20 and EU Council
The Prime Minister (Mrs Theresa May):...In a number of my
meetings, I discussed Iran and rising tensions in the Gulf.
Escalation is in no-one’s interest, and engagement is needed on
all sides to find a diplomatic solution to the current situation
and to counter Iran’s destabilising activity. At the same time, I
was clear that the UK will continue to work intensively with our
Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action partners to keep the Iran
nuclear deal in place. The breach of that deal by Iran is
extremely concerning, and together with France, Germany and the
other signatories to the deal, we are urging Iran not to take
further steps away from the agreement, and to return to
compliance. The deal makes the world safer and I want to see Iran
uphold its obligations...
(Islington North)
(Lab):...The Prime Minister says that the international community
must stand against Iran’s destabilising activity in the region.
The Iran nuclear deal agreement was a multilateral agreement
signed up to by President Obama, and a number of other
Governments, but reneged on by President Obama’s successor.
Beyond just saying that we need to protect the deal, what action
has the Prime Minister taken to ensure this? What conversation
did she have with President Trump on this issue?
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Extract from Statement
on Counter-Daesh Update
The Secretary of State for International Development (Rory
Stewart):...Indeed, Daesh’s imposition of early medieval social
codes and horrifying videos of slaughter of fellow Arabs seemed
to most Iraqis and Syrians profoundly irrational, culturally
inappropriate and deeply unappealing. Its military tactics seemed
almost insane. It deliberately picked fights not only with the
Syrian and Iraqi regimes, but with Jabhat al-Nusra, the Free
Syrian Army, Shi’a communities as a whole, the Iranian Quds Force
and the Kurds, who initially tried to stay out of the fight. It
finished 2014 by mounting a suicidal attack on Kobane in Syria in
the face of over 600 US air strikes, losing many thousands of
fighters and gaining almost no ground...
...Instead, the counter-attack on Daesh in Mosul was led by the
Iraqi Government. Initially, this did not seem very promising.
The Government appeared to lack the capacity and will to restore
even the most basic services to communities in Fallujah or
Ramadi. They were backed by unreliable Sunni tribal leaders and
by Iranian-supported Shi’a popular mobilisation forces, which
alienated and terrified the local populations. Kurdish Iraqi
forces also seemed unwilling to fight Daesh in Mosul. The
coalition provided training to Iraqi forces but on a much smaller
scale than during the surge. Daesh had laid mines throughout the
urban areas and was fighting for every inch of ground...
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