"As we address new threats to our security, so we must also continue to confront state actors whose influence fuels instability in the region. So I want to assure you that I am clear-eyed about the threat that Iran poses to the Gulf and the wider Middle East."
− Then-Prime Minister Theresa May, December 2016
"It is logical to assume that Iran’s intentions are to develop a nuclear weapons capability and any claims that its intentions are exclusively peaceful should not be regarded as credible... Iran’s nuclear intentions cannot be seen outside the context of its support for terror proxies, arguably the defining feature of its foreign policy. The risks are clear."
− Former International Trade Secretary, Rt. Hon. Liam Fox MP, June 2015
"We have made clear our concerns about Iran’s policies towards Israel and the Holocaust on many occasions, and most recently we raised our concerns over an alleged proposal to hold a competition in Iran for Holocaust-related cartoons."
− Former Middle East Minister, Tobias Ellwood, January 2016
"Freedom of religion and belief, freedom of expression, women’s rights and the justice system all need improvement… The number of executions—almost 1,000 in the past 18 months alone—is at a record high, despite President Rouhani’s pledge in 2013 to improve the rights and freedoms of Iranian citizens. Unfortunately, progress has been slow, and in some areas things have gone backwards... The UK has consistently pressed Iran to improve its human rights record."
− Former Middle East Minister, Tobias Ellwood, June 2016
"The message to the Iranian regime should be simple: the UK stands with the millions of Iranians who want their Government to act in a civilised manner, not to be a backward-striving theocracy that survives on repression, barbaric punishment and terrorism. I and many of my colleagues from both Houses of Parliament have on many occasions urged the Government to recognise and support Iranian dissidents and activists who are advocating a free and democratic Iran. Those individuals struggle against the current theocratic regime in Iran, despite enormous personal sacrifices and threats to their lives, to establish an Iran where capital punishment, torture and persecution are abolished and prohibited by law."
− CFI Officer, Matthew Offord MP, June 2016
