Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the effect on the UK's relationship with Saudi Arabia of recent steps to improve relations with Iran.

The UK and Saudi Arabia have a long history of friendship, understanding and co-operation. Relations are based on a number of pillars including defence, security, trade and investment, regional issues, as well as essential co-operation on counter-terrorism. Our relationship remains strong. We have been clear with Saudi Arabia, and other regional partners, that engaging with Iran to ensure its nuclear programme remains exclusively for civil purposes, does not mean we will turn a blind eye to Iran’s destabilising actions in the region.