Baroness Afshar
Main Page: Baroness Afshar (Crossbench - Life peer)Department Debates - View all Baroness Afshar's debates with the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office
(11 years, 5 months ago)
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Baroness Warsi
I am not enough of a military expert to start making these decisions. I do not think that this is a matter for moral judgment; it will be based on any scenario that presents itself at the time, and it would be wrong for me or the Government to speculate at this stage.
Baroness Afshar
My Lords, should there not be the same kind of sanctions against all countries who have nuclear weapons? Is it not the case that these sanctions hurt the poor in Iran while the elite are totally unaffected?
Baroness Warsi
The noble Baroness raises a very important point. When we look at sanctions, we are extremely aware of the need to have appropriate exemptions in place that cover humanitarian assistance, including medicines. It is important to remember that what we are concerned about is the development of nuclear weapons. We have concerns about the regime but not about the Iranian people. They are not the people we want to suffer as a result of these sanctions.