Prime Minister Boris Johnson underlined that the UK’s “priority is to prevent a nuclear-armed Iran”, in a letter responding to CFI and over 80 Conservative parliamentarians.
In October, 84 Conservative parliamentarians wrote to Prime Minister Boris Johnson with concerns over the expiration of the United Nations (UN) arms embargo on Iran and expressing “regret” at the UK Government’s failure to support efforts to extend it, in a letter coordinated by the Conservative Friends of Israel.
Writing in response on 10th November, the Prime Minister said that a nuclear-armed Iran “would have deeply destabilising consequences and implications for our own national security”.
The Prime Minister emphasised towards the end of his letter that the Government are open to different ways of confronting Iran’s hostile and destabilising activities. He wrote: “We remain clear on the need to address Iran’s destabilising regional activities and nuclear programme. We are open to different ways of doing that”.
Addressing the expiry of the UN arms embargo on Iran, Prime Minister Johnson said that the “Government did not want to see the arms embargo expire, given the major implications for security and stability in the region, but our efforts to find a way of maintaining it were unsuccessful”.
Mr Johnson wrote that the Government would continue to support the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
He added: “Our ongoing objective is to use the Dispute Resolution Mechanism (DRM) to address Iranian non-compliance, for which we are pursuing all options in the DRM. We are also clear that Iran must engage seriously: its current actions put the JCPOA at risk”.
Responding to the possibility of further sanctions on Iran, the Prime Minister wrote: “Sanctions are just one tool for achieving our international policy objectives and we keep that under review”.
He added that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) “remains subject to EU sanctions”.
Read CFI’s letter here. It called for the Prime Minister to address seven questions relating to UK Government policy on Iran, including clarification on possible UK sanctions in response to continued Iranian non-compliance with the JCPOA nuclear deal and a call for the UK to consider proscribing Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terror organisation.
