Middle East and North Africa

Scott Arthur Excerpts

Monday 5th January 2026 Commons Chamber

[Mr Falconer]

I thank the hon. and gallant Member for his service both in the Foreign Office and in the British military. I can confirm that the camps in north-east Syria remain a high priority.

[Dr Scott Arthur (Edinburgh South West) (Lab)]

I thank the Minister for being so quick to condemn Netanyahu for yet again trying to block aid from getting into Gaza, and for his condemnation of the new settlements, which, I hope, will not actually go forward.

I want to talk about Iran. Before Christmas, I visited a few schools in Edinburgh South West—Boroughmuir, Balerno, Currie and Tynecastle high schools—where I met young people who were really keen to vote in our Scottish Parliament elections this year. By contrast, I see on social media that young people of around the same age in Iran are out on the streets risking everything to vote—particularly women, given the pressures in that country. Will the Minister join me in applauding those young people in Iran, particularly the women, for all that they are doing? When he meets his Iranian counterpart, will he remind them that those people have the right to protest and determine their country’s future?

[Mr Falconer]

We do remind the Iranian authorities of the right to protest. It is vital that that people are able to conduct that right with access to communications, which have come under pressure in Iran in recent days, and indeed without the threat of violence.