Iran’s Influence in the Middle East

Jim Shannon Excerpts

Wednesday 22nd March 2017 Westminster Hall

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

It is a pleasure to speak in this debate. I congratulate the hon. Member for Hendon (Dr Offord) on securing it and clearly setting the scene for us all.

The US Defense Secretary recently awarded Iran the title that no right thinking nation should wish to have—that of being

“the single biggest state sponsor of terrorism in the world”.

That searing condemnation has been underlined by other world leaders. The Americans have taken steps to address this situation, and I urge the Minister to do the same.

The Minister knows about the deep respect that we all have for him and the time he takes to provide answers. We appreciate that, but I hope that he gauges the amount of angst among us as all at this time and that he will take further steps. Why has no action been taken? What has been the result of the decision to remove human rights aspects from negotiations and to lift sanctions from Iran? Iran is considered the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism and the world’s No. 1 executioner per capita. It is the epicentre of terrorism, religious fundamentalism and regional meddling, and it is ruled by a religious dictatorship. It murders people because it can.

I remind the Minister of my stance—it is shared by the hon. Member for Hendon—on Iran’s testing of ballistic missiles. In my opinion, that is not a step by Iran that is conducive with international sanctions and obligations. We know what I am referring to. The missile was built in Iran and it will be able to strike at ships in the Gulf delta, up to 180 miles away. Am I alone in my concern? I believe I am not. The Chamber is full of people who think likewise. The difference between the Americans and us at this moment is that we have said our eyes are open, but our hands, for some inexplicable reason, are tied. That is not the approach that any peacemaker should take. I say again to the Minister: at the very least, sanctions must be imposed upon the Iranians as an indicator of the fact that we in the House are aware of the situation and will oppose any further shows of strength that they deign to make.

The hon. Member for Liverpool, Riverside (Mrs Ellman) mentioned the persecution of Baha’is, which is rampant, as is the persecution of those of the Jewish faith. As to Christians, 193 were arrested in Iran in 2016. Yaser Mosibzadeh, Saheb Fadayee and Mohammad Reza Omidi were arrested on 13 May, along with their pastor, Yousef Nadarkhani, as they were celebrating communion. They have all been charged with acting against national security and have had two hearings, but a verdict is still pending. Yaser, Saheb and Mohammad Reza were also charged with consumption of alcohol for drinking wine at communion and sentenced on 10 September to receive 80 lashes each. Can you believe that? I had communion at church on Sunday, and other hon. Members probably did as well. Imagine that afterwards every one of the 150 people in my church was given 80 lashes for taking communion. That happens in Iran on a daily basis.

We have softened our approach in the past two years, but the Iranians’ behaviour has been the opposite. They have flexed their muscles and tested the water—to find nothing of substance in opposition. I call, as the National Council of Resistance of Iran has done, for immediate eviction of the IRGC, to stop it sponsoring and spreading terrorism. Finally, I will quote Winston Churchill:

“One ought never to turn one’s back on a threatened danger and try to run away from it. If you do that, you will double the danger. But if you meet it promptly and without flinching you will reduce the danger by half.”

Let us learn from that and meet our international obligations with wisdom and strength.

--- Later in debate ---

[Fabian Hamilton (Leeds North East) (Lab)]

I congratulate, as everybody else has, the hon. Member for Hendon (Dr Offord) on eventually securing this debate, despite the setbacks of two weeks ago that were totally outside his control. In this week of Nowruz, the Iranian new year, it is very appropriate to hold a debate such as this.

The hon. Gentleman talked about Iran being the chief sponsor of terror in the region—something that is well known and well documented. He also made the very important point that Iran regards Syria as its 13th province. The policies of the Iranian Government have certainly shown that to be the case. He also mentioned, rather importantly, the lifting of sanctions following the Iran nuclear deal, which he claimed has released $100 billion to the Iranian Government—to be used, as he pointed out, largely for sponsoring some of the most appalling terror groups.

My right hon. Friend the Member for Enfield North (Joan Ryan), who has been very active on middle east issues, pointed out that the nuclear deal has done nothing to stop Iran’s destabilising influence in the region, as the hon. Member for Hendon said. My right hon. Friend also drew our attention to the underground rocket factories that are under the control of Hezbollah in Lebanon. It remains to be seen what other Governments in the region will do about that, if indeed they can do anything at all.

My hon. Friend the Member for Liverpool, Riverside (Mrs Ellman), who has a reputation for being very forthright and involved in debates on the region, called Iran a dangerous promoter of terrorism overseas and of repression at home. We heard some months ago, in this very room, horrifying and hair-raising stories about the abuse of human rights in Iran, some of which have been mentioned today. The right hon. Member for Chipping Barnet (Mrs Villiers) drew our attention to them once again.

One of the most fascinating contributions this morning was from the hon. Member for South Ribble (Seema Kennedy), who drew our attention to her own family members who are still in Iran. She rightly said that we cannot ignore Iran. That is clear to all of us, and that is why this debate has been so well subscribed.

As we have heard, Iran is increasingly exerting its power in the middle east, taking advantage of the economically and politically destabilised post-Arab spring middle east. With the collapse of so many national Arab identities and the growth of sectarian identification, Iran has found a new role in the middle east as a regional superpower. As was mentioned, much of that stems from the Sunni-Shi’a rift in Islam—a historical rift going back centuries that is rearing its head with a vengeance today.

Iran is playing, I believe, a long-term game by investing in the region. It penetrates weaker systems in the region so as to make itself indispensable to many parties and, of course, as a means to project its own power. As we have heard, it invests not only in hard power but in soft power, such as by establishing cultural and religious centres and financially supporting groups in other middle eastern countries.

Iran has the largest majority Shi’a population in the region—indeed, in the world—and is a self-declared defender and supporter of Shi’a minorities in other middle eastern countries; it often criticises other countries for mistreating their Shi’a minorities. We have heard today that Iran supports Hezbollah—the Lebanese Shi’ite militia that is the most powerful military force in Lebanon. Iran also supports President Assad of Syria; it is his closest ally, of course. Iran has come to dominate so many nations in the region, especially those that I have mentioned. As we heard, it is more clandestinely supporting the Shi’a Houthi rebels in Yemen, and it has criticised Bahrain for mistreating its own Shi’a population.

The hon. Member for Hendon mentioned something that baffled me slightly; I do not know about other hon. Members. That was Iran’s support for ISIL or Daesh. I have not seen any evidence that suggests that Iran supports in any way the activities of Daesh, but if the hon. Member for Hendon has such evidence, I would be interested to see it.

Despite the sanctions, Iran is the second largest economy in the middle east and north Africa after Saudi Arabia. Its GDP in 2015 was $393.7 billion, according to the World Bank. I am sure that, once the sanctions have been fully lifted, its economy will grow much faster. Judging by the last time I was there, which was nearly 10 years ago, it certainly needs a lot of investment in its major infrastructure, because that is sadly lacking.

As we have heard, Iran’s political system is religious democracy—theocracy. It is a unique model in the world. I think the hon. Member for South Ribble said that its population is more than 80 million. According to World Bank statistics, the population was 78.8 million in 2015, but of course without a proper census, it is very hard to tell. According to the British Council in March 2016, Iran is a

“sophisticated, highly educated state…with a youthful population”.

The last statistic I saw was that two thirds of its population are under 35 years old. That is remarkable.

The United Kingdom, the United States and their allies in the Gulf Co-operation Council have stated that Iran engages in

“destabilising activities in the region”.

That is in the House of Common Library briefing paper of 2017. The Prime Minister stated on BBC radio in December that she was

“clear-eyed about the threat that Iran poses to the Gulf and the wider Middle East”.

The Gulf Co-operation Council views Iranian influence in the region as threatening and as a sign of Iran’s desire for regional hegemony.

Let me discuss Iran after the nuclear deal. The joint comprehensive plan of action, which was signed in July 2015 and came into force in 2016, has been called by President Trump

“the worst deal ever negotiated”.

Iran is using the nuclear agreement to ease its international isolation and reassert itself as a regional power and a regional energy and trade hub. It has placed in storage two thirds of its centrifuges for the creation of nuclear fissile material and dispensed with 98% of its stockpile of low-enriched uranium. Those facts were upheld when I visited the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna last November. A huge percentage of its inspectors are still in Iran. It is consuming most of the agency’s budget, Director General Amano told us at the time.

[Jim Shannon]

So far, the hon. Gentleman has not commented on this issue, but I am sure that he will do so shortly. Does he agree that every opportunity should be used to express solidarity with Christians and other religious groups being persecuted regularly and systematically in Iran, and does he feel that the Minister should take every opportunity to bring the matter to the attention of the Iranian authorities?

[Fabian Hamilton]

The hon. Gentleman has a brilliant reputation in the House of Commons for standing up for the rights of persecuted Christians anywhere in the world. Of course I agree that we should always point out abuses of the human rights not only of Christians, but of the Baha’is, who have been mentioned. There is also still a small Jewish population in Iran, frightened that they might inadvertently mention the terrible word that is forbidden—Israel.

I will conclude, because we all want to hear from the Minister. Zvi Magen, of the Israeli Institute for National Security Studies, said just last year:

“The Israeli security establishment believes that the main threat Israel is facing in Syria is in fact Iran and its local proxies like Hezbollah”,

which are being funded by the Iranian state. Israel feels threatened by a Shi’a axis within its neighbours. In 2004, King Abdullah of Jordan warned of a rising Shi’a crescent in the region. I was in Jordan just in January, when I heard in detail the Jordanian Government’s concerns about the rise of Iran.

Iran’s revolutionary Government since 1979 is in so many ways a real tragedy for the people of Iran. It is a country of such wonderful people. I have been there myself. I have met its only, and absolutely splendid, Nobel laureate, Shirin Ebadi, an extraordinary woman who is struggling to make her voice heard against the regime’s repression. Iran has made a huge contribution historically to human civilisation, human knowledge and culture, and Labour Members would love to see Iran do so again and see the Iranian people set free to once again take their rightful place in the world.