At today’s statement from the Foreign Secretary on the conflict between Israel and Iran, several Labour MPs raised concerns regarding the threat posed by the Iranian regime to Israel, the Jewish community and the wider Middle East.
East Renfrewshire MP Blair McDougall asked: ” I associate myself with the Foreign Secretary’s condemnation of the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, but we need to match that condemnation with accountability. Here in the UK, Jewish communities in particular are deeply concerned about what lies ahead. Last week, the Iranian ambassador acknowledged before the Foreign Affairs Committee that MI5 had identified 22 threats on British soil that had been organised by the Iranian regime. What is the Foreign Secretary’s message to Jewish communities, who are in a state of high alert at the moment, wondering what will happen?”
To which the Foreign Secretary replied: “My hon. Friend is right that the Iranian regime is the world’s worst sponsor of state terrorism and state threats. We have three individuals who were arrested under the National Security Act 2023 moving through our judicial system. I want to reassure those in the Jewish community in our country that we take those threats very seriously, and I and the Home Secretary will do all we can to keep them, their buildings, their institutions and their families safe.”
North Durham MP Luke Akehurst asked: “Over the past decades, Iran and its terrorist proxies have effectively colonised five middle eastern countries and used them as launching pads for attacks against Israel. Iran has been goading and indeed preparing for a conflict with Israel for decades, including the genocidal intent behind its nuclear weapons development. How will the UK support our many allies in the region, including Arab countries as well as Israel, who are facing similar threats from the Iranian regime?”
To which the Foreign Secretary replied: “I remind my hon. Friend that we have the strongest of bilateral defence relationships with Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Oman, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Iraq and Lebanon at this time, and they can rely on us.”
And Hemel Hempstead MP David Taylor asked: “As well as the Iranian regime’s threat to Israel, it has supported Assad to kill half a million people in Syria, including Palestinians, and it supplies Putin with the drones he is using to massacre people in Ukraine. We must also remember that the Iranian regime persecutes its own people, including human rights activists. Just as Ministers have, I am pleased to say, engaged with Syrian activists in the UK to hear their views on the future of their country, can I ask Ministers and the Foreign Secretary to assure me that they will engage with human rights activists and democracy activists here in Britain to help to guide their approach?”
To which the Foreign Secretary replied: “My hon. Friend’s articulacy is spot on. I can give him that undertaking, between myself and the Minister for the Middle East.”
You can read the full session here.
