CFI Officer and MP for Finchley and Golders Green, Mike Freer, wrote an article published in Conservative Home on the shortcomings of the nuclear deal between Iran and the P5+1, coinciding with tomorrow’s one year anniversary of the signing of the agreement.
Mr Freer wrote that “By staying silent in the pursuit of better trade relations, we are giving Iran the green light to continue to build its arsenal of missiles, operate as a malicious actor across the Middle East and repress human rights. This must not continue”.
He underlined that instead of the deal achieving the intended outcome of closer relations, “Western observers have looked on in dismay as Iran’s record on human rights has deteriorated, the opposition has been systematically crushed and the financing of terrorist elements across the region has continued”.
The Finchley and Golders Green MP criticised the Government’s silence “in the face of mounting evidence of Iran failing to act in the spirit of the deal and continuing to repress its citizens”. He added that the UK and UK “have been shamed by other organisations and governments brave enough to stand up, and point out clearly how Iran is continuing to treat the West with contempt in the Middle East and beyond”.
In his article Mr Freer highlighted Germany’s Prime Minister Angela Merkel’s condemnation in the German Parliament last week of Iran’s missile launches over the past year, stating that they were “inconsistent with a UN resolution urging it to refrain from up to eight years from developing missiles designed to deliver nuclear weapons”.
He asserted that Iran’s “ambitions often run contrary to the interests of the West and its allies in the Middle East”.
On Iran’s regional proxies and support of terror groups, Mr Freer wrote: “Too often, Iran has played a malicious role in the complicated geopolitical morass of the Arab world, backing terrorist elements across the region in their operations against Israel, Saudi Arabia and ordinary Arabs. Hamas in Palestine, the Houthi rebels in Yemen and Hezbollah in Lebanon all work against Western interests and attack our allies: all are backed by Iran. Hezbollah even stated in June that they receive all their funding from Iran, the first explicit confirmation of the extent of its reliance on the Ayatollahs’ regime”.
The CFI officer continued: “Acknowledging these ties, the US rightly considers Iran to be the world’s biggest state sponsor of terror, a view supported by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF)”.
Mr Freer also emphasised Iran’s “lack of respect for human rights”, as 28 Sunnis were hung in a mass execution this week, as well as a gay teenager – in violation of international law.
Click here to read Mr Freer’s full article.
