Iran

Baroness Deech Excerpts

Monday 3rd December 2012 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Warsi]

My Lords, my noble friend comes to these matters with great experience and expertise, and it is important that voices such as his are heard. However, I can assure him, as I can assure the House, that there is no plan whatever to take military action against Iran, although of course all options are on the table. We fundamentally believe that the best way to deal with this matter is through pressure and engagement, and that is the process that we have adopted.

[Baroness Deech]

My Lords, does the noble Baroness agree that there is something that is perhaps slightly upside down about this Question and that what we should be worrying about is the legality of the preparation of nuclear weapons by Iran? No country should have to face the choice between obliteration and self-defence.

[Baroness Warsi]

The noble Baroness raises an important point. We have concerns and it is because of those concerns that there have been successive United Nations resolutions on this matter over a number of years. It is why the international community wants Iran to be much more transparent and why we continue to engage and push for that transparency. We would all like to come to a negotiated solution.