Andrew Robathan (Deputy Chief Whip, Whips; Blaby, Conservative)

What recent developments there have been in UK-Iran relations.

David Miliband (Secretary of State, Foreign & Commonwealth Office; South Shields, Labour)

I hope, Mr. Speaker, that you and the House will allow me to thank my hon. Friends the Members for East Renfrewshire (Mr. Murphy), for Pontypridd (Dr. Howells) and for Sheffield, Heeley (Meg Munn), who in their time at the Foreign Office all made an important contribution to the country, and did so with grace, humour and determination, in the best traditions of this House.

In early September, the Iranian deputy Foreign Minister visited the UK for meetings with a range of Ministers and senior officials, including myself. The discussions covered Iran's nuclear ambitions, its role in the region, human rights and its relationship with the UK. We remain very concerned by Iran's behaviour in all those areas, and we are working bilaterally and with our partners to address them.

Andrew Robathan (Deputy Chief Whip, Whips; Blaby, Conservative)

I had the good opportunity to visit Iran in July, and it was extremely interesting. I share the Foreign Secretary's concerns about Iran's nuclear programme and human rights. However, we were told by people in Iran that bellicose statements threatening Iran militarily make those who do not support the Ahmadinejad regime rally behind it. It is a lesson of history that people will often rally behind a regime when their country is threatened. Will the Foreign Secretary take on board the fact that language is very important? That is not to say that we should not carry a big stick, but language is very important.

David Miliband (Secretary of State, Foreign & Commonwealth Office; South Shields, Labour)

I agree with the hon. Gentleman. I am glad that he and other hon. Members have been to Tehran; that sort of engagement is important. I hope that he will not find bellicosity in statements from the Government—I do not believe that he will. The whole House will have read the bellicose statements made by President Ahmadinejad at the UN and will have been appalled by them. I can affirm to the hon. Gentleman that there will not be bellicosity from the Government on this issue, because is it far too important. We are also making a serious offer to Iran for economic, cultural and scientific co-operation. I think that that is the way forward, but it is not a way forward while the Iranian Government continue to defy not only the UN Security Council, but the International Atomic Energy Agency, which has continuing serious concerns about their programme and about their refusal to come clean about it.

Gerald Kaufman (Manchester, Gorton, Labour)

Would my right hon. Friend, on behalf of Her Majesty's Government, make it clear that an attack on Iran by Israel would trigger off uncontrollable, convulsive and irreversible consequences that would damage not only the region, but the entire global system, and that such an attack must not take place? It would be an attack on one of the nastiest regimes in the world by another of the nastiest regimes in the world.

David Miliband (Secretary of State, Foreign & Commonwealth Office; South Shields, Labour)

I do have genuinely huge respect for my right hon. Friend, but I cannot associate myself with that last sentence which he uttered. He will know that almost from my first day in this job I have emphasised that we are 100 per cent. committed to a diplomatic course with Iran and to a process of making it a serious offer that presents it major economic—never mind political—benefits, but that we must be insistent that a uranium enrichment programme in defiance of not only the UN Security Council, but of Iran's obligations under the non-proliferation treaty is a serious danger to stability in not just the middle east, but in the world. The middle east has enough problems without a nuclear arms race, and it is very important that we address that matter diplomatically on all fronts.

David Heathcoat-Amory (Wells, Conservative)

Could the Foreign Secretary say a little more about the outcome of the human rights discussions, because how Iran treats its own citizens gives some indication of how it might treat other people if it ever got the chance? Is he aware of reports of widespread executions, including mass executions and the executions of minors? If he has not already done so, could he make it clear to the Iranian Government that if they want to play a part in the world order and to persuade others that their own religion is other than barbaric, they must conform better to world standards of human rights?

David Miliband (Secretary of State, Foreign & Commonwealth Office; South Shields, Labour)

The right hon. Gentleman makes an important point: how a country treats its own citizens is often a good indicator of how it is willing to treat citizens in other parts of the world. Perhaps I can give him the figures, which are horrific. Some 235 people have been executed in Iran during the first eight months of this year, and there were more than 300 executions last year—that was an increase from 177 in 2006. He also rightly says that Iran executes more juvenile offenders than any other country in the world. He is absolutely right to raise those human rights questions. We raise them too, and we deplore the way in which the Iranian Parliament is also now discussing a draft penal code that would set out a mandatory death sentence for the crime, quote unquote, of apostasy. If adopted, that would violate the right of freedom of religion, which is also an important basis of any civilised society. I am pleased that he has raised the issue of human rights, and I assure him that we have raised it too.

Denis MacShane (Rotherham, Labour)

Would the Foreign Secretary agree that President Ahmadinejad's speech to the UN was probably the most consistently anti-Semitic speech by any leader since the end of the Third Reich? Does he also agree that the Conservative Muslim Forum's argument that Iran should have nuclear weapons is not helpful? The Prime Minister said last night, in an important speech, that we have to look at tightening up and increasing sanctions. Does the Foreign Secretary agree therefore that we need unity in this House, in Europe and with the United States and the world's democracies, but not with those who find excuses for Iran's leader?

David Miliband (Secretary of State, Foreign & Commonwealth Office; South Shields, Labour)

My right hon. Friend makes three important points. If he looks at the special UN Security Council discussion on the middle east the week before last in New York, he will see that I specifically raised President Ahmadinejad's description of the, quote unquote, cesspool of Zionism, which was a disgraceful, anti-Semitic attack and a threat to a whole country. It was one member state of the UN threatening the life of another, which I am sure is abhorrent to all hon. Members. It is fair to say that we have seen a fair degree of unity across the House—in all three main parties—on this issue. The twin-track diplomatic approach is the right one. The so-called carrots of economic and scientific co-operation are right, but they have to be balanced by the potential sticks of economic sanctions. That is the right way for the world to express its displeasure at the way in which Iran is defying world opinion.

David Lidington (Shadow Minister, Foreign Affairs; Aylesbury, Conservative)

First, may I associate my colleagues with the tribute to the outgoing members of the Foreign Secretary's ministerial team? I also welcome his three new colleagues and hope that they have a good, fruitful and enjoyable time at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office—[Hon. Members: "Short!"]

We too would like to see the day dawn when we can enjoy a better relationship with Iran, but given that the IAEA says that it is still being refused access to key sites and that the most recent UN resolution—1835—contained no new specific sanctions, does the Foreign Secretary believe that he should now seek to persuade the EU at least to agree to the oil and gas sanctions and the ban on export credits that the Prime Minister has repeatedly promised but that have not yet been delivered?

David Miliband (Secretary of State, Foreign & Commonwealth Office; South Shields, Labour)

I am grateful for the hon. Gentleman's kind words and agree with all but one of the words that was used during his welcome for my new team.

At the last oral questions, we talked about how the European Union would implement resolution 1803. I am sure that the House will be pleased that on 7 August a common position was established in respect of banking and a range of other issues relevant to 1803, which shows the EU's determination to implement its sanctions obligations in full—and even go beyond the requirements of that resolution. In respect of the Prime Minister's promise to pursue oil, gas and other sanctions on the Iranian regime, I assure the hon. Gentleman that that remains an important part of our agenda, both within the EU and internationally.