Iran
(Warley) (Lab)
1. What steps her Department plans to take to counter Iran’s
destabilising use of proxies in the middle east.
The Minister for Asia and the Middle East ()
I am sure that the whole House will accept the apologies from the
Foreign Secretary, my right hon. Friend the Member for South West
Norfolk (), who is otherwise engaged
today.
The UK maintains a range of sanctions to constrain Islamic
Revolutionary Guard Corps malign activity. Maritime interdictions
in January and February 2022 led to the seizure of advanced
conventional weapons travelling from Iran to the Houthis in
Yemen. We support the strengthening of state institutions in Iraq
and Lebanon, and work to end the conflict in Yemen and Syria.
Mr Speaker, you may recall that it was against considerable
Whitehall resistance—it needed pressure from this House—that we
got the Government to ban Hezbollah. I hope that the Minister
will be more receptive to recognising that the IRGC is at the
heart of destabilising proxy wars across the middle east and
further afield, and that she will show more urgency in joining
our allies in the United States in proscribing the IRGC.
The UK maintains a range of sanctions that work to constrain the
destabilising activity of the IRGC. The list of proscribed
organisations is kept under constant review, but we do not
routinely comment on whether an organisation is under
consideration for proscription.
(Lichfield) (Con)
The hostility with Iran has caused even greater friendship
between the adjoining Arab countries and the state of Israel, so
is not now the time to follow the US and some other countries by
moving the British embassy from Tel Aviv to the capital of
Israel, where its Parliament is, Jerusalem?
My hon. Friend is right to say that the UK and Israel share a
thriving relationship, working together on bilateral priorities,
as well as on regional issues of mutual concern. The
British embassy in Israel is in Tel Aviv. I am aware of the
possibility of a review but will not speculate further on this
point.
(Leyton and Wanstead) (Lab)
When we are talking about the people in power in Tehran and their
proxies around the world, whom my right hon. Friend the Member
for Warley () mentioned, we are talking
about clerical fascists, who would probably have been on the same
side as the Nazis if they had been around 80 years ago. Why can
we not just get on with it and ban the IRGC, as we banned
Hezbollah?
I have been clear in response to earlier questions on the IRGC
and the range of sanctions to constrain its destabilising
activity. I will not comment further on the possibility of
proscription of this group.
(Preseli Pembrokeshire)
(Con)
It is a mistake for the west to regard Iran’s sponsorship of
proxies as somehow being a non-strategic irritant, as there is a
continuous thread that links its sponsorship of terror with its
ballistics programme and its march towards acquiring nuclear
weapons capability. So does my right hon. Friend agree that we
should not repeat the mistakes of the past and that any revised
nuclear deal with Iran should be accompanied by very strong
measures to discourage it from being the world’s largest sponsor
of terrorism?
We have real concerns about the instability that Iran causes in
the region. Its nuclear programme is today more advanced than
ever. There is an offer on the table and Iran should take it
urgently—time is running out and there will not be a better one.
If this deal is not struck, and soon, the joint comprehensive
plan of action will collapse. In that scenario, we will have to
consider carefully the options with partners and allies.
(Harlow) (Con)
With Iran stepping up its terrorist activities in the middle
east, supporting terrorist organisations carrying out attacks
against Israel and developing its nuclear capacity, what plans
does my right hon. Friend have to introduce sanctions against
Iran and take up further punitive measures?
I am grateful to my right hon. Friend for his question. I am
afraid that I will not be able to talk about future sanction
designations on the Floor of the House as that would undermine
their role.
Further to the comments from the right hon. Member for Harlow
(), it is two years since the
introduction of the Magnitsky legislation, which was designed to
deal with designated persons guilty of human rights violations
and other serious offences. Given the continuing abuses in Iran,
why has that not been used against a single prison governor,
Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps commander or senior member of
the regime, and when will that be remedied?
I am afraid that I cannot speculate about future sanction
designations, but as I said in answer to an earlier question, we
maintain a range of sanctions that work to constrain the
destabilising activity of the IRGC.
