British Embassy (Tehran)

Keith Vaz Excerpts

Wednesday 30th November 2011 Commons Chamber

[Mr Hague]

I am grateful to my hon. Friend for all his remarks. His question about whether there is a new development in the international handling of wider issues in Iran is interesting. It is too early to say yes, but I think the events will help to open the eyes of many people throughout the world to the nature and behaviour of the Iranian regime. If it has so little regard for such well established international conventions as the protection of diplomatic premises, one can imagine that it does not have much regard for other international agreements either.

[Keith Vaz (Leicester East) (Lab)]

I join others in welcoming the Foreign Secretary’s action. He will know that about 70,000 Iranians live in the United Kingdom. What will be the practical consequences of his decisions? Where will entry clearance operations in Tehran move to now that the embassy is closed? Where will British Iranians who want to visit relatives in Iran make their applications for visas?

[Mr Hague]

It will of course be more difficult for them, because we will not have a visa section operating in Tehran. Iranian citizens can still obtain visas to come to the United Kingdom, but they will have to obtain them through other hubs of our diplomatic network, specifically Abu Dhabi, or other hubs of the visa network. We will ask another country to act on our behalf in Iran and to look after our interests there, and I imagine that the Iranians will ask a third country to do the same here in London and to provide whatever assistance is required for Iranian citizens here in the UK.