Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government whether Iran’s expansion of its ballistic missile programme threatens the viability of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action; and what diplomacy they are pursuing in response with the governments of both Iran and the United States.

We have consistently expressed our deep concerns about Iran's missile programme. The Foreign Secretary raised the issue with Foreign Minister Zarif in Tehran on 19 November. We have publicly condemned recent Iranian missile activity. On 5 December, the Foreign Secretary issued a statement following Iranian testing of a medium range ballistic missile. We have also highlighted our concerns in joint letters with France and Germany to the UN Secretary General and, with them, we continue to raise the issue with the Iranian government. With the US we maintain regular discussions on shared concerns around Iran's missile programme.

The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPoA) was intended to address Iran's nuclear capability rather than ballistic missiles. Nevertheless, we maintain that we are better placed to address wider concerns, including about missiles, with the JCPoA in place.