HC Deb 11 May 2004 vol 421 c197W
15. Hugh Robertson

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make a statement on bilateral relations with Iran. [171843]

Mr. Straw

Our policy towards Iran is one of constructive but critical engagement. We aim to support Iran's efforts to reform while continuing a robust dialogue on matters of concern such as Iran's nuclear programme, human rights record, and attitude to the fight on terrorism and the Middle East Peace Process. Ministers are in close contact with Iranian leaders on all these issues of concern; I last met my Iranian counterpart in London on 22 April.

17. Julie Morgan

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what support he has offered to President Khatami to reduce use of torture and repression in Iran. [171845]

Mr. Rammell

We remain seriously concerned at human rights violations in Iran, including the alleged use of torture. We welcome the statement by the head of the Iranian judiciary on 28 April that torture is forbidden and that confessions extracted through torture are not legal. We hope this will be reflected in practice throughout Iran. Ministers have raised human rights concerns with their Iranian counterparts bilaterally on many occasions and we have done so through the EU/Iran Human Rights dialogue. The EU has made clear that its relations with Iran can move forward only if Iran takes action to address our concerns in areas such as human rights.

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