HC Deb 18 January 2000 vol 342 cc407-10W
29. Mr. Fabian Hamilton

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he last made representations to the Government of Iran on the 13 Jews arrested on charges of espionage. [104220]

Mr. Hain

My right hon. Friends the Prime Minister and the Foreign Secretary raised the cases of those detained on espionage charges, including 13 members of the Iranian Jewish community, with Foreign Minister Kharrazi during his visit from 10–12 January. Dr. Kharrazi assured them both that those detained would receive a fair trial including access to families and legal representation.

Mr. Gapes

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations he has made to the Government of the Russian Federation relating to the supply of missile-related goods and technology to Iran. [104771]

Mr. Hain

We are concerned that a number of Russian companies and institutions may have exported missile-related goods and technology to Iran. This would not be consistent with Russia's commitments under the terms of the conventions and export control regimes of which she is a member.

We regularly discuss these concerns with the Government of the Russian Federation, both bilaterally and in multilateral fora, such as the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR).

During the visit of my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary to Russia from 3–5 March 1999, he discussed the dangers of exporting weapons and related technology to the Middle East.

Mr. Gapes

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent reports he has received on Iran's ability to produce missiles with a range of more than 500 miles. [104768]

Mr. Hain

In conjunction with other government departments we regularly assess Iran's ability to produce long range ballistic missiles, drawing on numerous sources.

We and our EU partners remain concerned by Iran's development of the Shahab-3 ballistic missile, with a range of 1300kms. We regularly engage the Iranian authorities on proliferation issues and have urged Iran to refrain from the further development of such missiles, while understanding Iran's legitimate security concerns.

We are aware that Iran has ambitions to develop a satellite launch vehicle capability.

Mr. Fabian Hamilton

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the Government of Iran since the testing of the Shahab-3 missile in July 1999. [104855]

Mr. Hain

We have established regular dialogue with the Government of Iran on non-proliferation issues. During our contacts, while mindful of legitimate Iranian security concerns, we have repeatedly stressed the importance we attach to global efforts to limit the development of long range ballistic missiles, and shall continue to do so.

During the official visit to the UK of the Iranian Minister of Foreign Affairs Dr. Kamal Kharrazi from 10–12 January, Dr. Kharrazi and the Secretary of State agreed to continue dialogue on bilateral, regional and international political issues.

Mr. Fabian Hamilton

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what intelligence reports he has received regarding the range, payload capacity and purpose of the Shahab-4 missile currently under development in Iran. [104857]

Mr. Hain

My hon. Friend the Member for Leeds, North-East will understand the security constraints that prevent us from discussing intelligence reporting.

Mr. Fabian Hamilton

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on his assessment of Iran's capability to produce nuclear, chemical and biological weapons and their delivery systems without outside help. [104854]

Mr. Hain

In conjunction with other Government Departments, we regularly assess the status of efforts by a number of countries to develop or acquire weapons of mass destruction and the means to deliver them. Such assessments draw heavily on intelligence sources and we are therefore unable to comment further.

Iran is a Non-Nuclear-Weapon State Party to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and a State Party to the Chemical Weapons Convention and the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention. We continue to encourage Iran to respect these treaties and to comply fully with its obligations under them.

Mr. Fabian Hamilton

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of(a) the evidence of the involvement of Hamas in terrorism and (b) the threat from Hamas to UK interests. [104859]

Mr. Battle

Any such assessment of Hamas's involvement could only be made from intelligence sources and would, therefore, be exempted from disclosure under Exemption 1 of the Code of Practice on access to Government Information.

Hamas leaders have repeatedly stated publicly that their area of activity is Israel and that they have no policy of attacking external interests. UK interests are therefore not directly targeted, although we condemn terrorism in all its forms and at whomever it is directed.

Mr. Fabian Hamilton

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the evidence concerning financial links between Iran and Hamas; and if he will make a statement. [104858]

Mr. Battle

This Government and our EU colleagues have frequently raised with the Iranians our concerns about their support for groups who use violent methods to oppose the Middle East Peace Process and will continue to do so. Any assessment by HMG of the extent of the financial links could only come from intelligence and is, therefore, exempted from disclosure under Exemption 1 of the Code of Practice on access to Government Information.

Mr. Fabian Hamilton

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the range of the Shahab-3 missile tested by Iran in July 1999 and of the countries that fall within its range. [104856]

Mr. Hain

We regularly discuss proliferation issues with Iran and have frequently expressed our concern about Iranian attempts to develop ballistic missile systems. We remain particularly concerned by Iran's development of the Shahab-3 ballistic missile, with a range of 1,300kms and therefore capable of reaching any of the neighbouring countries within this range. Such a system could pose a threat to stability in the region.

Iran is not the only country in the region to possess such technology, and we understand Iran's legitimate security concerns. However we continue to urge Iran to refrain from the development of ballistic missiles.

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