§ Lord Aveburyasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether, as participants in the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq, they have received reports about the recruitment of suicide bombers in Tehran and the arrest of would-be bombers on the Iran-Iraq border. [HL3310]
§ Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean:We have made strong representations to the Iranian authorities about the recruitment of suicide bombers in Tehran. My right honourable friend the Foreign Secretary spoke to Iranian Foreign Minister Kharrazi about this, and Her Majesty's Ambassador in Tehran reinforced the message with Mr Kharrazi's deputy.
We made clear that this recruitment was unacceptable and went well beyond the acceptable limits of free speech. It was a clear incitement to terrorism, including attacks on coalition forces in Iraq.
The Iranian reponse has been that this did not represent official Iranian government policy. Nevertheless, we remain deeply unhappy that such an event should ever have been allowed to take place at all.