Iran. A request for an explanation from British MPs

(BRUSSELS2) The chairman of the (British) House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee, Richard Ottaway, has written to William Hague, the Foreign Secretary, asking him to clarify whether the United Kingdom agrees with the American policy to do "whatever is necessary" to prevent Iran from having nuclear weapons. He thus asks the British government to specify, in his opinion, the moment when Iran would have "crossed the line".

Is the sanctions regime effective?

The British Parliament also wonders whether the sanctions regime adopted at European level is adequate. Certainly they were highly effective and have caused serious economic damage ". But " Iran's public negotiating posture has not changed” he remarks. If these penalties reach ordinary Iranians, they seem to have little detrimental effect on government elites or the Revolutionary Guards”. MEPs therefore wonder what criteria the government intends to use to monitor the success of sanctions as a means of resolving the nuclear dispute. Is the goal to weaken the Iranian economy or is there a need for a more “targeted” approach in the future? »

Unblock negotiations

Despite a history of defiance, a certain agreement with Iran can be reached, believe the deputies who thus underline how much it is important » to have additional information when everyone considers that 2013 will be the year when the « The lock on Iran's program can somehow be broken.".

MEPs criticize the point of balance, or blockage, reached today. " If each side insists that the other must step forward first, it will be difficult to have progress. ". Iran wants, in fact, an abandonment of certain sanctions and the possibility of pursuing a civilian nuclear program; international negotiators want Iran to clear up doubts about the peaceful aspect of its program (stopping the production of 20% of enriched uranium, shutting down the enrichment plant and placing its stock of enriched uranium).

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