Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps his department is taking within the UK Embassy in Tehran to (a) assist and (b) protect (i) female, (ii) female Christian and (iii) other protestors in Iran.

Since September 2022, ordinary Iranians have risked their lives to protest against the Iranian regime's appalling violence and repression. These protests were initiated by women and girls, but rapidly grew to reflect all facets of Iranian society experiencing oppression at the hands of the authorities. Christians and other religious minorities have long faced systematic discrimination, harassment and unfair detention in Iran.

The UK supports women, minority groups and others standing up for their fundamental rights in Iran by ensuring the Iranian regime is held to account. We do this in part through our sanctions designations: HMG has announced six rounds of Iran human rights sanctions since October 2022. We also work with our partners in multilateral fora, for example by removing Iran from the UN Commission on the Status of women. We raise human rights directly with the Iranian authorities at all appropriate opportunities, including through our Ambassador in Tehran to ensure the regime is in no doubt about the political price it is paying for its actions.