Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty’s Government, in the light of the inability of the Iranian embassy in the UK to open a UK bank account, what assessment they have made of the extent to which the operations of that embassy, including its consular activities, are constrained.

The inability of the Iranian Embassy in the UK to open a UK bank account remains a source of concern and one that the Government has been working closely with the banking sector to help the Iranian Embassy to resolve.

However, it is for banks to decide which accounts to accept based on their own risk assessment and taking into account the costs of managing those risks.

We are nevertheless committed to helping the Iranian Embassy resolve this issue and will continue to help them to explore all viable options.