Iran (Hansard, 8 December 2003)

§ Mr. Pope
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of Iran's ability to use its nuclear power programme for military purposes. [140935]
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§ Mr. MacShane
The technology which Iran has been seeking to develop at its nuclear facilities would enable them to produce fissile material, which can be used in the production of nuclear weapons.

§ Mr. Woodward
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps the Government will take to ensure that Iran complies with its promises to the UK, French and German Foreign Ministers on nuclear issues. [141285]

§ Mr. MacShane
All of the elements promised in the Tehran Declaration are incorporated in the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Board of Governors' resolution adopted on 26 November. The primary responsibility for ensuring Iran's compliance with terms of the resolution lies with the IAEA, which will report periodically to the Board of Governors on progress made. We will monitor this progress closely through our membership of the Board of Governors.

§ Mr. Woodward
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the steps Iran has taken in its undertakings to the UK, French and German Foreign Ministers on nuclear issues; and what steps remain to be taken. [141286]

§ Mr. MacShane
In the Tehran Declaration of 21 October, which was the result of the visit to Tehran by my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary with his French and German colleagues, Iran undertook to sign an Additional Protocol to its nuclear safeguards agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); to cooperate fully with inspectors from the Agency; and announced that it would suspend the enrichment of uranium and fuel reprocessing activities. All of these undertakings were subsequently included in a resolution adopted by the IAEA Board of Governors on 26 November. Monitoring of progress on these undertakings is rightly the responsibility of the IAEA, which will report periodically to the Board of Governors.