Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions his Department has had with the Ministry of Defence on the £400 million which is reported to be due to Iran following arrangements made between the UK and Iran in the 1970s for the purchase of Chieftain tanks; and what recent discussions he has had with his Iranian counterpart on that matter.

​This is a long-standing case and relates to contracts signed over 40 years ago with the pre-revolution Iranian regime. The case is subject to a legal process, and the most recent hearing concluded on 22 May. We await the court's judgement, which will be a step forward in this complex and long-standing case. As Ministers have said in Parliament, it would be inappropriate to comment in detail while litigation continues.