I propose to take Questions Nos. 117 and 118 together.
It is the firm conviction of this Government, and its EU partners, that the grave and valid concerns about Iran's nuclear programme must be resolved through diplomatic negotiations alone and by no other means.
The E3+3, comprising Germany, France and the UK together with the US, Russia and China, represents the international community in negotiations with Iran. I fully support the efforts of the EU's High Representative Catherine Ashton on behalf of the E3+3 and it is deeply regrettable that Iran's authorities have yet to respond to her letter of October 2011 calling for a resumption of talks.
In response to the failure on the part of Iran to address the international community's concerns following the publication of the International Atomic Energy Agency's latest report on the Iran nuclear issue on 8 November 2011, 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 US, UK and Canada have also implemented further tough bilateral sanctions against Iran, in response to the IAEA report. 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 addressed.
It is the earnest hope of this Government, as well as its EU, US and international partners, that productive negotiations with Iran will restart soon to address comprehensively all the many serious issues relating to its nuclear programme, including its possible military dimensions.