Government Policy on Iran

Robert Largan Excerpts

Wednesday 9th December 2020 Westminster Hall

[Robert Largan (High Peak) (Con)]

I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Henley (John Howell) on securing this important debate. While the world’s attention has quite rightly been on coronavirus, Iran has continued to violate the terms of the 2015 nuclear deal without facing significant consequence. Those violations have already been clearly set out already, so I will not repeat them.

The UK was right to trigger the dispute-resolution mechanism alongside France and Germany in January, sending a strong—if overdue—signal that Iran’s non-compliance would no longer be tolerated. The terms of the nuclear deal clearly state that if the issue had not been resolved by the Joint Commission within 15 days following the triggering of the DRM, and if the complaining participant felt that the issue constituted “significant non-performance”, they could refer it to the UN Security Council for a vote on a resolution to continue lifting sanctions. Back in August, seven months on from the triggering of the DRM, the E3 identified

“systematic Iranian non-compliance with its…obligations”.

In the light of that, it is reasonable to ask why the issue has not, so far, been referred to the UN Security Council.

The most troubling outcome of that inaction was the expiry of the UN conventional arms embargo on Iran in October. The E3 said that it had

“serious concerns regarding the implications for regional security of the scheduled expiry…particularly given Iran’s destabilising activities, which continue unabated.”

Why, then, given Iran’s continued non-compliance, was the embargo permitted to expire? Iran is now free to acquire advanced weaponry from Russia and China, having signed a reported $400 billion strategic deal with the latter. I look forward to the Minister’s response to those points.

Non-compliance with the nuclear deal is not all that should concern us about the Iranian regime’s actions. We have seen Iran emerge as a leading state sponsor of terrorism in the middle east and beyond. It provided funds and weapons to terrorists in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Yemen. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has used the Quds Force and proxies such as Hezbollah to carry out espionage and terror attacks globally. Colleagues have set out how Iran’s regional ambitions have a malign and destabilising effect on the middle east, but it is essential to note that its actions have a global reach, including here in the United Kingdom.

Iran’s proxy, Hezbollah, has been active here since the 1980s. Just five years ago, a Hezbollah cell in north-west London was caught stockpiling 3 metric tonnes of ammonium nitrate. Let us be under no illusion: Iranian-inspired extremism is a serious security threat to the UK, and plays an active role in disrupting social cohesion and community relations in this country and across Europe.

We have seen this hate spill over onto the streets of our capital—a good example is the al-Quds day march, where we have seen Hezbollah flags being waved. Hezbollah’s official television station, Al-Manar, is spreading antisemitic hate speech and conspiracy theories, glorifying terror and violence, including a 29-part drama based on the antisemitic text, “The Protocols of the Elders of Zion”.

In conclusion, spreading misinformation and radicalising people is part and parcel of Tehran’s agenda; it is our responsibility to be vigilant against this, and to robustly protect minority communities in this country, as well as to stand firm with our allies against Iran’s malign activities in the middle east. The stakes are high and a failure of statecraft would have untold consequences. A major rethink is needed.