Middle East and North Africa

Baroness Foster of Oxton Excerpts

Wednesday 7th January 2026 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Chapman of Darlington (Lab)]

I can confirm that there is regular contact between UK Ministers and their counterparts in the UAE and KSA specifically about Yemen. They are substantial and meaningful, and they are not, as my noble friend described it, going through the political motions. This is serious. We want to see progress and de-escalation, and that is what we are hearing from the UAE and KSA as well. We need to keep up those contacts and try to make sure that we see the results of them on the ground.

[Baroness Foster of Oxton (Con)]

My Lords, on Iran, refusing to proscribe the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which is the regime’s primary tool of repression and terror, sends a dangerous signal of weakness. At this critical moment, more than 10 days into the uprising, there has been no public statement of support for the people of Iran from the Prime Minister at a time when protesters are being killed, hospitals are being attacked and a nation is demanding freedom. Recent statements from the President of the United States warning the regime against mass killings and expressing support for the Iranian people have resonated strongly inside Iran. They offer hope, not because of rhetoric but because the people of Iran can finally express their protests, knowing full well that they have forces on the ground in their support. Can the Minister tell us when the Prime Minister is planning to stand up and condemn the atrocities being heaped upon civilians in Iran and, at the same time, when he will proscribe the IRGC as a terrorist organisation?

[Baroness Chapman of Darlington (Lab)]

We do not talk about proscription before we do it. As I explained in my response to the Front Benches earlier, we are careful of what we say. That is not because we think that people should not have the right to protest and be free to do so—and we do not agree with many of the things that they say when they do—but because we want to make sure that nothing this Government say puts at risk the lives of people protesting and making their case as they should. We do not want to do anything that would make their predicament even worse, because it is the position of the regime in Iran that we are somehow encouraging, facilitating, enabling and encouraging those protests. Clearly, we are not. These are very firmly the views of the people of Iran, who are choosing to take the steps that they are taking. We are mindful of what we say, and I think it is right that we are.