Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 21 February 2012
90 Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade his views that the decision by EU foreign ministers to impose further sanctions on Iran will have a serious impact on the Iranian people; his further views on recent reports that ordinary citizens are already facing difficulties due to soaring food prices; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9627/12]
View answerGiven the failure of the Iranian government to respond to the serious concerns of the international community raised by the International Atomic Energy Agency report of 8 November, the EU has recently been compelled to adopt two further rounds of restrictive measures against Iran, at the Foreign Affairs Councils held on 1 December 2011 and 23 January 2012 respectively. These latest sanctions adopted by the EU specifically target additional entities and individuals directly involved in Iran's nuclear activities in violation of UN Security Council resolutions. Among these entities are the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Line (IRISL) while there are also new restrictions against members of, as well as entities controlled by, the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC). In addition, there are new measures in the energy sector, including a phased embargo of Iranian crude oil imports to the EU; in the financial sector, including against the Central Bank of Iran; and in the transport sector.
The aim of all these measures is to persuade Iran to return to the negotiating table so that the issues raised in the IAEA report and in repeated UN Security Council and IAEA Resolutions can be adequately and comprehensively addressed.
There is no doubt that Iran is becoming increasingly isolated internationally as a result of its government's refusal to address the nuclear issue. This isolation is compounding the already extensive economic problems which Iran is currently facing and is negatively affecting the wider Iranian population, with whom the EU has no quarrel.
However, these sanctions can be swiftly reversed if Iran takes concrete steps to address the very serious concerns of the international community and provide assurances as to the peaceful intentions of its nuclear programme. In this regard, I note with interest the recent letter of Iran's chief nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili to EU High Representative Catherine Ashton, who leads negotiations on the nuclear issue with Iran on behalf of the E3+3, accepting HR Ashton's proposal of October 2011 to renew talks.
It is my belief that the additional measures adopted by the EU, as well as the tough bilateral sanctions implemented by US, Canada and the UK in recent months, have been of great influence in triggering this belated acceptance of talks by Iran. I hope that renewed negotiations will begin soon and that Iran will now address comprehensively the international concerns about the possible military dimension of its nuclear programme. I urge the Iranian side to enter negotiations this time in a genuine spirit of compromise and cooperation.
91 Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade in view of the imposition of sanctions on Iran because of their nuclear programme if he will consider calling for sanctions on Israel because of their nuclear activities; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9624/12]
View answerThe latest report of the International Atomic Energy Agency on Iran, issued on 8 November, concluded that there are strong grounds for serious concern regarding possible military dimensions to Iran's nuclear programme. It concluded that information available indicated that Iran had carried out activities relevant to the development of a nuclear explosive device. In response to the failure on the part of Iran to address the international community's concerns following the International Atomic Energy Agency's latest report on the Iran nuclear issue, the EU has implemented two further rounds of sanctions against Iran, which were approved by the Foreign Affairs Council at its meetings on 1 December and 23 January. The aim of these measures is to persuade Iran to return to the negotiating table so that the issues raised in the IAEA report and in repeated UN Security Council and IAEA Resolutions can be addressed. It is the earnest hope of the Government, as well as of its EU, US and international partners, that productive negotiations with Iran will get underway again soon and address comprehensively the many serious issues relating to Iran's nuclear programme, including its possible military dimensions.
Israel has never officially declared that it possesses nuclear weapons. It is one of just three states not to have ratified the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, which is acknowledged as a cornerstone of the international non-proliferation regime and the essential foundation for the pursuit of nuclear disarmament. In both national and EU statements, and through our participation in the New Agenda Coalition, Ireland has repeatedly called on all states not party to the NPT to accede to the Treaty as non-nuclear weapons states and to conclude a full-scope safeguards agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
Ireland regards the establishment of a Middle East Zone free of weapons of mass destruction and their delivery systems as a particularly important objective. I am very pleased that at the 2010 NPT Review Conference, Ireland brokered agreement on a text which emphasised the importance of establishing such a zone and which set out a number of practical steps towards achieving this, including the convening of a conference in 2012. We are hopeful that all countries in the region, including Israel and Iran, will participate in the Conference and in the process going forward.
Ireland is rightly regarded as having a long and very close association with the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and as being a very active proponent of complete nuclear disarmament. The Deputy can be assured that full implementation of the NPT remains a key foreign policy objective for the Government as we enter the 2015 NPT review cycle, which begins in Vienna in late April.
I am repeatedly urged to consider sanctions against Israel for various reasons. I have made clear that, like all previous Irish Governments, the Government does not support such sanctions, and further that there would be no possibility whatever of achieving an EU consensus in favour of such sanctions.
