Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what discussions he has had with his Iranian counterpart on the persecution of the Baha’I community in Iran.

The Baha'i community in Iran is systematically persecuted by the authorities. Reports this year indicate Iran has redoubled this repression, with expropriation and repossession of land, destruction of homes, and increasing detention of members of the community. As the Minister with responsibility for the Middle East and Human Rights Lord (Tariq) Ahmad said on 5 August: persecution of religious minorities is a serious human rights violation and cannot be tolerated in 2022.

We reiterated our commitment to holding Iran to account for its persecution of the Baha'i at the UN General Assembly Third Committee on Wednesday 26 October. We raise Iran's dire human rights record at all appropriate opportunities, both directly with Iranian authorities and in multilateral fora.