Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 10 May 2012
45 Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he will report on the current situation in Iran and the ongoing contacts between him and Iran and between the EU and UN and the Iranian regime; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23520/12]
Amharc ar fhreagraRelations between Iran and the international community continue to be dominated by concerns over Iran's nuclear programme, which has been the subject of various UN Security Council and IAEA Resolutions since 2006 and on which the latter agency has reported extensively. The IAEA's most recent reports of 8 November 2011 and 24 February 2012 noted strong grounds for serious concerns regarding possible military dimensions to Iran's nuclear programme and indicated that Iran had carried out activities relevant to the development of a nuclear explosive device. The long-standing position of the international community, including that of Ireland and its EU partners, has been to strongly urge the Iranian Government to respect and fulfil its international obligations under the Non Proliferation Treaty and to seriously and unconditionally engage in discussions aimed at confirming the peaceful nature of its nuclear programme.
In this regard, Ireland continues to support strongly the twin track approach conducted by EU High Representative Ashton on behalf of the E3+3 (France, Germany, UK, US, Russia, China). This involves a readiness to engage in serious negotiations with Iran but to apply sanctions when required. As I have stated on numerous occasions, Ireland remains firmly convinced that the Iran nuclear issue can only be resolved through negotiations and not by any other means, as it is clear that any form of military intervention or military action against Iran would have extremely grave and unpredictable consequences for the entire region. Against the background of two unproductive rounds of discussions in late 2010/early 2011 and of continuing Iranian unwillingness to engage seriously on the issue, the EU has been compelled to adopt several rounds of restrictive measures, including an embargo of Iranian petrochemical products that started on the 1st May and a ban on crude oil imports to the EU which is due to take effect on 1 July next. I believe that, along with tough bilateral sanctions which were implemented recently by the US, Canada and the UK, these measures have been instrumental in triggering the belated acceptance of talks by Iran. I welcome the discussions between the E3+3 and Iran which resumed in Istanbul on 14 April.
At last month's Foreign Affairs Council, which I attended, EU High Representative Ashton briefed Ministers on these talks. She judged these to have been more constructive than earlier rounds, with the Iranian side attaching no preconditions to further talks and both sides agreeing on the need for confidence-building measures. A further round of negotiations has been scheduled for 23 May in Baghdad and it is hoped that this will enable a clearer judgement to be made of the seriousness of commitment on Iran's part to making real progress.
While Iran's nuclear programme continues to be of great concern, so also is the internal human rights situation within Iran, which has continued to deteriorate since the 2009 Presidential elections. Ireland and its EU partners continue to be active in highlighting the very poor human rights situation within Iran. At UN level, Ireland and all other EU member States co-sponsored a UN General Assembly resolution last October which expressed the international community's deep concern at the human rights situation in Iran. At a bilateral level, my Department engages in ongoing dialogue with the Iranian Ambassador and his Embassy on this subject, setting out our concerns very clearly. Ireland has also supported the EU travel ban and asset freeze against those responsible for grave human rights violations in Iran. We will continue to be active at EU level in pressing for strong EU action in relation to the human right situation in Iran.
