Counter-Daesh Update

John Howell Excerpts
Thursday 4th March 2021

(3 years ago)

Commons Chamber
Read Full debate Read Hansard Text Read Debate Ministerial Extracts
Dominic Raab Portrait Dominic Raab
- Hansard - - - Excerpts

The hon. Gentleman is absolutely right; that is a key aspect of addressing and dealing with Iran. I was in Paris recently not just with my French and German opposite numbers—we also had a virtual meeting with the US Secretary of State, Tony Blinken. Clearly, we are all agreed—so there is an element of transatlantic solidarity and cohesion, which has been reinforced—not just on the importance of nuclear compliance and getting Iran back to systemic compliance rather than non-compliance, but on dealing with its wider destabilising activities, including those that the hon. Gentleman mentioned.

John Howell Portrait John Howell (Henley) (Con) [V]
- Hansard - -

My right hon. Friend is so right to stress that the threat of Daesh is not dead; I have seen for myself in Nigeria how the activities of Daesh-related groups are still causing mayhem. Does he think that this is not going to be solved until we have got rid of President Assad in Syria and have a regime in there that we can trust and that can work on our behalf?

Dominic Raab Portrait Dominic Raab
- Hansard - - - Excerpts

I totally agree with my hon. Friend that it is very difficult to see a scenario where Syria returns to peace, stability and some kind of normalcy with President Assad at the helm.