Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 29 March 2012
2Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade his views on the imposition of economic sanctions on Israel; his further views on the imposition of sanctions on Iran; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17431/12]
Amharc ar fhreagraIt is important to distinguish between the different circumstances of Iran and Israel, especially with regard to compliance with the nuclear non-proliferation treaty, NPT. Under the NPT, Iran has committed not to engage in a nuclear weapons programme. However, it has repeatedly failed to live up to its international treaty obligations and it is in breach of a succession of UN security council, SecCo, and IAEA resolutions concerning its nuclear programme. The report issued by the IAEA last November concluded that there are strong grounds for serious concerns regarding possible military dimensions to Iran's nuclear programme while also indicating that Iran had carried out activities relevant to the development of a nuclear explosive device.
In response to Iran's failure to address the international community's serious concerns about its nuclear programme, the EU, along with other international actors, has implemented sanctions against Iran with the aim of persuading it to return to meaningful negotiations. These sanctions are immediately reversible should Iran demonstrate its commitment to addressing the concerns raised by the IAEA report. In this regard, I welcome Iran's indication that it is willing to resume dialogue with the EU3+3 and I hope that it enters negotiations this time in a genuine spirit of compromise and co-operation.
Israel is not a party to the nuclear non-proliferation treaty and it has never officially declared that it possesses nuclear weapons. Ireland is keen to see full universality of the NPT. We have repeatedly called on the remaining three states which are not party to the NPT to accede to the treaty as non-nuclear weapons states and to conclude a safeguards agreement with the IAEA.
It is the long-standing position of successive Governments not to support a policy of boycotts or sanctions against Israel. To do so would only weaken the weight carried by our views in Israel, where we seek to persuade, and among our European Union partners. We must recognise that there is no prospect at present of securing agreement at EU level to adopt sanctions or to suspend the EU-Israel association agreement.
Essentially, we are dealing with double standards of the most profound nature. Israel has been in defiance of UN security council resolutions on this issue. It has not opened up its facilities but no sanctions whatsoever have been taken. As the Minister of State has acknowledged, it is not a signatory to the non-proliferation treaty while, on the other hand, Iran is a signatory. Iran has tried to be a responsible member of the international community. It has tried to meet the agreed responsibilities of the international community, that is, not to allow any further proliferation of nuclear weapons. However, it has faced sanctions of the strongest terms. There are double standards and there is a lack of balance. What does Israel get? Not only are there no sanctions against Israel but it is party to favourable trade agreements with the European Union. We wonder why so many people in the Middle East and the wider region have no confidence in the United States and the European Union to negotiate a fair settlement of the conflicts. Why is the European Union, of which Ireland is a part, applying double standards and undermining consistency and trust in our role as an arbiter of peace and conflict resolution?
We have had this discussion at the Joint Committee on European Union Affairs. I respect the Deputy's viewpoint on this matter. However, I simply cannot agree with the view that Iran has been responsible in meeting its international obligations. I am unsure of the Deputy's views on the integrity of the International Atomic Energy Agency, IAEA, but I suspect I have some indication based on some of our previous exchanges. The agency is the implementation body which the Government respects and whose opinion and report, published in November, we give great stock to.
The conclusions of the IAEA on Iran are contrary to Deputy Mac Lochlainn's assertion that it has behaved responsibly. Since 2002, the IAEA has become increasingly concerned about the existence in Iran of undisclosed nuclear related activities involving military related organisations, including activities related to the development of a nuclear payload for a missile. The report published in November also states that the lack of co-operation from Iran means that the agency is unable to provide any credible assurance about the absence of undeclared material and activities in Iran. This precarious and dangerous situation threatens not just the Middle East, but global security. I am sorry to say that I cannot agree with the Deputy. We cannot simply turn a blind eye and suggest that Iran has been responsible in meeting its international obligations under the non-proliferation treaty.
As the Minister of State may be aware, the director of the International Atomic Energy Agency has been heavily criticised for publishing that report. He is seen to be way too close to the American-Israeli analysis of the situation. That report was not substantiated. It was opinions and it is contradicted by the US intelligence agencies in their report to their Senate. I am very critical of the Iranian Government and Iranian regime on many different levels, not least their human rights record. However, in terms of trying to develop nuclear weapons, the evidence is not there. We know the road this has led to in the past, in terms of Iraq and the disaster that took place there. It is time to produce the evidence on whether there is any ambition to develop nuclear weapons.
We have very significant evidence that Israel possesses hundreds of nuclear warheads. However, there is no determination by the international community to access its sites or to have consistency. Can the Minister of State not see how this does and could undermine faith in that region in the European Union and the United States and their bona fides on peace?
On whether the evidence exists, when I visited Vienna recently as part of a visit to the United Nations' Human Rights Council, I also met the deputy director of the IAEA, who had just visited Iran. It is clear that he and the others in the agency are people of enormous integrity who are professionals in their field and they have carried out countless site visits. With regard to the report, Deputy Mac Lochlainn asserts it is questionable or unreliable. I disagree. The report is based on information that has been drawn from a wide range of sources, including the regular inspections which have been carried out by IAEA inspectors, including the gentleman I met in Vienna, and it is deemed by the IAEA to be consistent in terms of technical content, individuals and organisations involved in that timeframe. I reject the Deputy's assertion.
