Iran (Sanctions) Regulations 2023

Giles Watling Excerpts

Monday 22nd January 2024 General Committees

[Leo Docherty]

The right hon. Gentleman makes a very good point and I can answer in the affirmative; we will take note of that as we review our sanctions approach.

The regulations will allow us to hold Iran to account for a broad range of malign activity, including the planning or conducting of attacks, assassinations, kidnap, sabotage of assets and attacks against shipping, of which we have seen a great deal in recent days and weeks. We have long condemned Iranian support for groups including Hamas, Lebanese Hezbollah, Palestinian Islamic Jihad and the Houthis. We are seeing again at the moment the way that such activity damages not just middle eastern security but global security and prosperity. We are therefore committed to using our sanctions to hold the Iranian regime to account for its malign activity in the UK and elsewhere.

We have so far sanctioned more than 400 Iranian individuals and entities using our other sanctions legislation in response to the regime’s human rights violations, nuclear escalation and terrorism, including, of course, having sanctioned the IRGC in its entirety.

[Giles Watling (Clacton) (Con)]

I feel that we are overlooking a story that has been active for some time, which is that Iran is hiring hitmen across the world to target individuals in foreign states, so it is more than just states that Iran is affecting with the Houthis in Yemen and Hamas in Gaza and elsewhere; we must take care to proscribe the individuals, too.

[Leo Docherty]

My hon. Friend is right. I mentioned the assassinations in my previous peroration. That is something that is in our sights and on which we will continue to focus.

Our sanctions against Iran account for a significant proportion of our sanctions work. The measures introduced by these regulations will be a useful tool in deterring and responding to future hostile activity against the UK and our partners. I hope the Committee will support these important regulations.

Question put and agreed to.