At today’s statement in the Commons from the Foreign Secretary on the conflict between Israel and the Iranian regime, Foreign Secretary David Lammy set out the government’s support for Israel’s right to defend itself and concern about Iran’s nuclear programme.
He said: “It should come as no surprise that Israel considers the Iranian nuclear programme an existential threat. Khamenei said in 2018 that Israel was a “cancerous tumour” that should be “removed and eradicated”. We have always supported Israeli security. That is why Britain has sought to prevent Iran obtaining a nuclear weapon through extensive diplomacy.”
He added: “Just last week, the International Atomic Energy Agency board of governors passed a non-compliance resolution against Iran, the first such IAEA finding in 14 years. The director general’s comprehensive report details Iran’s failure to declare nuclear materials. Iran remains the only state without nuclear weapons accumulating uranium at such dangerously high levels. Its total enriched stockpile is now 40 times the limit in the joint comprehensive plan of action. Its nuclear programme is part of a wider pattern of destabilising activity. The Government have taken firm action in response.”
In this context, he said: “As missiles rain down, Israel has a right to defend itself and its citizens”.
Later, in response to a question, he said: “Israel has been raising its concerns about Iran for years. It is an existential threat, and one that we recognise, which is why we have been working in concert with our partners in France and Germany on this issue for so long, and it has remained a cross-party issue.”
You can read the full statement here.
