Yvette Cooper Foreign Secretary, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
With permission, Madam Deputy Speaker, I will update the House on the disturbing developments unfolding in Iran. Horrific reports suggest that potentially thousands of people have been killed and many more arrested in the most brutal and bloody repression against public protest in Iran for at least 13 years.
On 28 December, protests began on the streets of Iran following a plunge in the value of the country’s currency. Over the following week, the protests grew in scale, intensity and geographic spread. Crowds surged on to the streets, from major cities to rural towns, with voices ranging from shopkeepers to university students protesting for change. Instead, they have been met with the most bloody repression.
A total internet shutdown instigated by the Iranian regime from 8 January, together with restrictions on phone communications, mean that the full facts are not yet clear, but I am fearful that the reports that we have seen may underestimate the full scale of the horror, as further evidence and testimony reaches the outside world. Videos are still emerging, including of what appear to be protester corpses lined up in body bags outside a hospital on the outskirts of Tehran.
The Iranian regime has called for a three-day period of national mourning, but only for its security forces. There has been no acknowledgment of dead protesters; instead, the regime peddles its manufactured narrative of foreign manipulation and seeks to portray peaceful protesters as criminals and terrorists while pursuing a brutal and relentless crackdown on its own people. It takes huge bravery to protest and to speak out in the face of such oppression, especially for women who continue to endure severe repression in their daily lives. The United Kingdom therefore condemns in the strongest of terms the horrendous and brutal killing of Iranian protesters and we demand that the Iranian authorities respect the fundamental rights and freedoms of their citizens.
On Friday, the Prime Minister joined with the German Chancellor and French President in condemnation of the violence and to call for its end. I also delivered that message directly to Iranian Foreign Minister Araghchi yesterday, setting out the UK’s total abhorrence at the killings, violence and repression that we are seeing and urging Iran to immediately end the violence and change course. Today, as further reports come through, the Minister for the Middle East, at my instruction, has summoned the Iranian ambassador to underline the gravity of this moment and to call Iran to answer for the horrific reports that we are hearing.
This latest conduct by the Iranian regime is no aberration and it is no outlier; rather, it is all too in keeping with the fundamental nature and track record of the regime. It is consistent with its previous conduct towards its own people, as we saw during the lethal repression of protesters led by Iranian women following the death in custody of Mahsa Amini at the hands of Iran’s so-called morality police. It is consistent with Iran’s destabilising actions towards its neighbours in the region, as we have seen in its backing of terrorist and extremist proxies— Hezbollah, Hamas and the Houthis—and of militia groups in Iraq and Syria, and from Iran’s barrage of missile attacks on Israel. It is consistent with Iran’s malign global impact, whether in weapons support for Russia against Ukraine or its nuclear programme. It is consistent too with Iran’s state threat activities on UK soil, posing danger to dissidents, journalists and the Jewish community here in the UK, with more than 20 potentially lethal Iran-backed plots over the last year alone, as tracked through the vital work of the UK’s security agencies.
Let me set out the action that the Government are taking in co-ordination with allies in response to the consistent threat that the Iranian regime poses to stability, security and freedom and to the UK national interest. First, on domestic security threats, we will not tolerate any Iran-backed threats on UK soil. In May, three Iranian nationals were charged with offences linked to the Iranian regime under the National Security Act 2023. I thank the police, security and intelligence services for their tireless work to keep us safe. Last year, we placed Iran on the enhanced tier of the foreign influence registration scheme to detect, deter and disrupt malign and undeclared efforts to undermine our democracy, we sanctioned the criminal Foxtrot network for the violent threats it posed against Jewish and Israeli targets in Europe on behalf of the Iranian regime, and we have geared up the UK’s security infrastructure to better tackle hybrid threats. As Home Secretary, I commissioned the review by the independent reviewer of terrorism legislation, Jonathan Hall KC, into what more needed to be done so that we could apply counter-terrorism-style powers, including on proscription, to state-backed threats as well. We announced last year that the Government will take forward the recommendations so we can deal with all the UK-based threats that we face.
Secondly, on support for British citizens, the first duty of any Government is the safety and security of our citizens, and the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office is working tirelessly to ensure the safety of British nationals in Iran. I spoke yesterday with the UK’s ambassador in Tehran about the vital work that he and the team are doing on the ground, and my Department is in contact with the relevant Iranian authorities regarding detained British nationals. Their welfare in Iran remains a priority. We are, of course, deeply concerned that Craig and Lindsay Foreman have been charged with espionage in Iran. Just yesterday, the Minister for the Middle East met members of the Foreman family, and we continue to raise the case directly with the Iranian authorities.
Thirdly, there is the co-ordinated economic and diplomatic pressure on the regime. This Government and our predecessors have continually raised human rights violations in Iran through the UN and international forums, including, most recently, in the autumn, resolutions calling for an end to the regime’s reprisals against women, journalists and human rights campaigners. In October, alongside our E3 partners, France and Germany, the UK triggered the snapback process, which saw the reinstatement of six previously terminated UN sanctions resolutions on Iran. We did so because of the repeated failure by the Iranian regime to comply with its nuclear commitments. On 1 October, we updated domestic legislation to reapply extensive sanctions measures contained in the resolutions, going further by designating 71 individuals and entities in sectors that have links to Iran’s nuclear programme.
Overall, this Government have imposed over 220 Iran sanctions designations since coming into office, and we back strong sanctions enforcement. Just last week, the UK provided support to the US’s seizure of Bella 1, accused of Shadow fleet activities and Iran sanctions breaches. When the sanctions were reinstated in October, I also urged those in the Iranian regime, even then, to change their approach and to work with the international community to comply with their obligations. I told them then that it would take time to fully implement the UK sanctions and that, during that window, they should start compliance and engagement with the international community and end the deception and obfuscation. They have not done so. Weapons inspectors still have not been given access and, far from changing their approach, we have instead seen a reversion to the most brutal forms of repression on their own streets.
As a result, I can confirm that the UK will bring forward legislation to implement full and further sanctions and sectoral measures. The UK has already designated key players in Iran’s oil, energy, nuclear and financial systems, and further measures will target finance, energy, transport, software and other significant industries that are advancing Iranian nuclear escalation. We will work further with the EU and other partners to explore what additional measures might now be needed in response to developments.
I also send a message to other countries that have sought to avoid implementing UN sanctions or to undermine the legitimacy of the UN sanctions reinstated following the snapback process. No one should be supporting the kind of approach that the Iranian regime is currently taking, and all member states should be fulfilling their UN obligations on such a grave and serious issue.
Let me say something else about the events of recent days. Just as in 2022, it is absolutely clear that the Iranian regime is trying to paint the protests as the result of foreign influence and instigation. It is using that accusation to try and whip up Opposition to the protests among anti-western Iranians, and to try to justify the vicious and sickening attacks on the ordinary civilians marching in the streets. This is nothing but lies and propaganda being spread by a desperate regime and it must not be allowed to undermine a genuine grassroots movement drawing together people from all parts of Iranian society and spreading across multiple cities and regions.
That is why we and other Governments across the world are determined not to play into the hands of the regime or to allow our words or actions to be twisted to support its lies and propaganda. With a functioning embassy on the ground in Tehran and British nationals being held in Iranian jails, we recognise that responsibility, as previous Governments have always done. In the last 18 months, we have taken stronger action to tackle Iranian threats at home and abroad than any recent Government, and we have done so with broad cross-party support. That must continue. The world is watching Iran. The UK will continue to confront the regime’s lies, to call out its repression and to take the steps necessary to protect the UK’s interests. I commend this statement to the House.
John Whittingdale Conservative, Maldon
Does the Foreign Secretary agree that the attempts by the regime to suppress news of what is happening in Iran by shutting down the internet makes the work of external media such as the BBC Persian service and Iran International all the more important? Given that journalists from both organisations have been attacked and threatened, can she and the Minister for Security, who is sitting next to her, confirm that measures will be taken to step up the security of those journalists?
Yvette Cooper Foreign Secretary, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
The fact that the Security Minister has come to sit on the front bench for this statement shows how seriously we take the threats here in the UK. The right hon. Member is right to talk about the threats that have been made to Iran International. I know that he will join me in paying tribute to the work of our police, particularly our counter-terrorism police, and our security services for ensuring that people are kept safe. I also pay tribute to the BBC Persian service. It is clearly independent operationally and editorially. One in four Iranians have accessed the BBC Persian service to get the latest news despite it being banned in the country. That shows the impact that independent journalism can have.
To watch the full clip of Sir John’s speech please click on the video link below:
