Asked by: Ruth Edwards (Conservative - Rushcliffe)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with her EU counterparts on the potential impact of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps on peace and security in Europe.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Iranian regime, including the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), poses a persistent threat to the peace and security of Europe. Since January 2022, there have been at least 10 threats by Iran to kidnap or kill British or UK-based individuals. The recent transfers of UAVs to Russia for use in Ukraine is yet another facet of this threat. HMG works closely with European partners to counter and deter malign Iranian activity in the UK and overseas. We have sanctions designations on over 300 Iranian individuals and entities including the IRGC in its entirety.
Asked by: Ruth Edwards (Conservative - Rushcliffe)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the trends in the level of the risk of persecution of the Baha'i people in Iran by authorities in that country.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Baha'i community in Iran is systematically persecuted by the Iranian regime. Reports indicate that the regime has redoubled its repression over the last year with increasing expropriation of land, destruction of homes and detention of Baha'is.
The persecution of religious minorities in Iran cannot be tolerated. The Minister for the Middle East and Human Rights, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad, made this clear in his statement of 5 August. The former Minister for Africa reiterated our commitment to holding Iran to account for its treatment of the Baha'i at the Westminster Hall debate of 11 October. The UK raised the Baha'i at the UN General Assembly (UNGA) Third Committee on 26 October and pressed for the inclusion of the Baha'i in the UNGA Resolution which passed on 16 November.