§ Mr. Cartwrightasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on Her Majesty's Government's current policy towards relations with Iran.
§ Mr. RentonWe are well aware of the strategic, political and economic importance of Iran, a country with which we have had a long historical relationship. We have followed closely the events in Iran since the Islamic revolution in 1979. We respect the right of the Iranian people to have the form of government of their choosing. We remain critical of the Iranian Government's record on human rights and respect for other international conventions. Nevertheless, we stand ready to build a more constructive and businesslike relationship with Iran in the future based on mutual interests.
We are scrupulously impartial towards the Iran-Iraq conflict and urge both sides to engage in negotiations to bring the tragic fighting there to an early and peaceful end. Our policy on arms supplies has been progressively tightened, and will remain that we refuse to sell defence equipment to either Iran or Iraq which will significantly enhance their capability to prolong or exacerbate the conflict. The detailed guidelines were set out in the answer that my right hon. and learned Friend gave to the right hon. Member for Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale (Mr. Steel) on 29 October 1985, at column 454.