Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he is taking to support a diplomatic resolution to the stand-off between the United States of America and the Islamic Republic of Iran.

We are concerned by the risk of unintended escalation between the United States and Iran. We are also concerned by the potential of further tension as a result of the failure of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. We continue to call on the US to preserve the gains that the Iran nuclear deal has brought, avoiding actions that would prevent the remaining parties from meeting their commitments to uphold the deal. We remain in close co-ordination with international partners to find diplomatic solutions to de-escalate tensions, and specifically advising Iran – using our diplomatic relationship – that escalation is not in their interest,as I did during my Tehran visit in June.