§ Mr. HuttonTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what information he has relating to the possession of nuclear weapons by(a) Israel, (b) Iran and (c) Syria; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Douglas HoggWe have no information either to confirm or deny the rumours that Israel may have nuclear weapons. We continue to emphasise the importance we attach to Israeli accession to the treaty on the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons. As states parties to this treaty both Iran and Syria have undertaken formal commitments not to acquire nuclear weapons which we expect them to honour in full. However, the experience with Iraq has demonstrated that membership of the non-proliferation treaty alone is no longer a guarantee of non-proliferation. We therefore take every opportunity both bilaterally and in international fora to stress the significance we attack to all states parties to the NPT complying fully with all their obligations.