Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what recent assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of trends in the number of Christians arrested in Iran.

The UK condemns the continued persecution of religious minorities in Iran and is aware of the recent upsurge in arbitrary arrests of Christians. At the 78th UNGA, we co-sponsored the Iran Human Rights Resolution, calling for Iran to eliminate, in law and in practice, all forms of discrimination on the basis of thought, conscience, religion or belief. The UK is an active member of the International Religious Freedom or Belief Alliance, where we continue to call on Iran to uphold fundamental rights. We are committed to promoting religious freedom and will continue to work with partners to promote the rights of Christians in Iran. We also work with our international partners in multilateral fora.