Asked by: Jack Rankin (Conservative - Windsor)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps he is taking to prevent (a) illicit weapons smuggling and (b) the destabilisation of the Middle East by Iran.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
Iran has long proliferated weapons across the Middle East, and continues to provide military, financial and political support to its proxies and partners - destabilising the region and jeopardising international security. The Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary have made clear to their Iranian counterparts that Iran must restrain its proxies and partners and take action to avoid regional escalation.
We will continue to work with our international partners to tackle Iran's malign behaviour. This includes holding them to account in multilateral fora, using sanctions regimes to target Iranian support to its proxies, and by maintaining our permanent defence presence in the region.
The Prime Minister spoke with Iranian President Pezeshkian on 12 August, warning against the risk of regional escalation. The Foreign Secretary has also spoken with both former Acting Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri-Kani, on 7 August, and Foreign Minister Abbas Aragchi, on 23 August.
Asked by: Jack Rankin (Conservative - Windsor)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with his Israeli counterpart on the Hezbollah attack on Majdal Shams on 27 July 2024.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK unequivocally condemns the strike in Golan Heights that has tragically claimed at least 12 lives. Hizballah must cease their indiscriminate attacks and their destabilising activity. The Foreign Secretary spoke with Israel's Foreign Minister Katz on 4 August following the attack, offering his condolences for the death of innocent children in Madj al Shams. He expressed the Government's concern about the escalation in tensions and the growing potential for miscalculation across the de-facto border between Lebanon and Israel. We continue to urge both Israel and Lebanon to engage with the US led discussions to reach a political settlement and resolve their tensions diplomatically. A widening of the conflict is in nobody's interest. The Government is working in lockstep with our allies to deescalate tensions and urge all parties to end the destructive cycle of retaliatory violence.