§ Dr. David ClarkTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what is his Department's policy on the export of arms to Iran; and what changes there have been to it there have been in the last two years. [26135]
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§ Mr. Douglas HoggThere have been no changes to our policy on arms exports to Iran since it was announced by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs on 1 March 1993. We continue to apply the following criteria in considering applications for the export of licensable goods to Iran:
- (i) With two exceptions we should not approve licences for any goods or technology on the military or atomic energy lists— schedule 1, part 3, groups 1 and 2—of the Export of Goods (Control) Order 1992, as amended. The exceptions are:
- (a) goods essential for the safety of civil aircraft and air traffic control systems;
- (b) radioactive material in the form of sources for medical equipment and deuterium labelled compounds for medical use.
- (ii) We should not approve licences for any equipment, including the exceptions to the complete ban mentioned above, where there was knowledge or reason to suspect that it would go to a military end-user or be used for military purposes.
Existing export licences, approved under the old guidelines, will remain valid. We shall support efforts among supplier countries, in particular the G7 and our European partners, to promote a harmonised approach to effective controls on the export of dual-use goods to countries of particular concern.