Asked by: Robert Largan (Conservative - High Peak)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 18 November 2020 to Question 113686 on Turkey: Hamas, what representations he has made to his Turkish counterpart on that matter.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
The Foreign Secretary has not raised this matter with his Turkish counterpart. The UK's position on Hamas is clear, and Turkey is well aware of this position. Hamas' failure to renounce violence and recognise Israel remains a significant barrier to peace. We continue to call upon Hamas to end permanently their incitement and indiscriminate attacks against Israel.
Asked by: Robert Largan (Conservative - High Peak)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential effect on regional stability of recent reports that Turkey has granted citizenship to senior Hamas operatives.
Answered by Wendy Morton
We are aware of reports about the granting of Turkish citizenship to Hamas figures. Hamas continues to pose a threat to Israel and Israeli civilians. The UK is clear that Hamas' failure to renounce violence and recognise Israel remains a significant barrier to peace. We continue to call upon Hamas to end permanently their incitement and indiscriminate attacks against Israel. The UK retains a policy of no contact with Hamas, in its entirety. Hamas' military wing has been proscribed as a terrorist organisation by the UK since 2001.
Asked by: Robert Largan (Conservative - High Peak)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions he has had with his German counterpart on that country’s detention of people suspected spying for Iran’s Quds Force.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
We do not routinely comment on intelligence matters or specific threats. We continue to use all the tools at our disposal to counter threats to national security, working with our allies. On 8 January 2019, the UK and a number of European partners jointly raised with Iran our deep concerns about hostile activities and plots being planned and perpetrated in Europe. We have long expressed our deep concerns about the destabilising activities of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and IRGC Qods Force. The Government is clear that Iran should instead look to play a constructive role in regional stability.
Asked by: Robert Largan (Conservative - High Peak)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment the Government has made of the effect of Iranians espionage activity in Europe on the (a) national and (b) regional security.
Answered by James Cleverly - Home Secretary
We do not routinely comment on intelligence matters or specific threats. We continue to use all the tools at our disposal to counter threats to national security, working with our allies. On 8 January 2019, the UK and a number of European partners jointly raised with Iran our deep concerns about hostile activities and plots being planned and perpetrated in Europe. We have long expressed our deep concerns about the destabilising activities of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and IRGC Qods Force. The Government is clear that Iran should instead look to play a constructive role in regional stability.
Asked by: Robert Largan (Conservative - High Peak)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of Iran's recent announcement to cease all commitments under the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.
Answered by Andrew Murrison - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Ministry of Defence)
We are deeply concerned by Iran’s recent announcement. As the Prime Minister said on 8 January, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPoA) remains the best way of preventing nuclear proliferation in Iran and we hope it will remain. The Prime Minister made this clear to President Rouhani when they spoke on 9 January, strongly urging Iran to reverse all measures inconsistent with the deal and to come back into compliance with it.
On 14 January the E3 initiated the JCPoA's Dispute Resolution Mechanism (DRM). We are committed to using the DRM in good faith to find a viable resolution to Iran’s compliance issues.
The Prime Minister and I have also spoken to European partners in recent days and will continue to do so to find a way forward. We need a deal which everyone respects the terms of, and which takes the threat of a nuclear-armed Iran off the table.