Middle East

Dan Carden Excerpts

Monday 23rd June 2025 Commons Chamber

[Mr Lammy]

I agree with the hon. Gentleman and the thrust of his remarks, which are around the need for diplomacy at this time. He is absolutely right about the malign intent of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and the Iranian regime, whose desire is to wipe Israel off the map. We must stand up to that pernicious ideology. We are attempting to, again, de-escalate. I remind him that Vice-President Vance said just yesterday that delaying the development of a nuclear weapon was the goal. He said, “We are at war with Iran’s nuclear programme. We are not at war with the Iranian people.” It is important for the hon. Gentleman to keep that in his mind’s eye.

The hon. Gentleman asks about British nationals. He heard what I said about the airspace being closed. I am pleased that the first flight has taken off. I remind him of successive UN resolutions—I refer him in particular to resolution 2231—in relation to this long-standing breach. He asks about the legal advice. He heard my comments on the legal advice. We were not involved. This is not our legal context. He asks about publishing the Attorney General’s legal advice. That might have been appropriate if we were involved—I do not think it is—but we are not involved, so there is no such advice to publish.

[Dan Carden (Liverpool Walton) (Lab)]

I welcome the Foreign Secretary’s calls to move this to a negotiated solution, and his focus on UK defence and security. He is right that Iran must never acquire a nuclear weapon. However, history also teaches us, on regime change, that interventions aimed at regime change in Iraq, Libya and Afghanistan have produced prolonged instability, not just in the region but far wider. What concrete lessons does he believe can be learned from this recent history in shaping Iran policy today?

[Mr Lammy]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend, but he will forgive me. I am not going to enter into a history lesson from the Dispatch Box, except to remind him that on Sunday I achieved 25 years as an elected parliamentarian. During the course of that period, there have, of course, been debates about regime change. I also remind him that the US has been clear that its intention is to target the nuclear threat. We should keep that in mind.