Asked by: Carla Lockhart (Democratic Unionist Party - Upper Bann)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment her Department has made of trends in the level of the persecution of Christians and other religious minorities in Iran; and what steps she is taking to support religious freedom and human rights in that country.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
We continue to monitor Iran's violations of the rights of religious minorities, and are committed to working with international partners to hold Iran to account. My Hon Friend the UK Special Envoy for Freedom of Religion or Belief, has worked closely on this issue - including hosting events in partnership with with Open Doors and Christian Solidarity Worldwide. We were integral to the delivery of an Iran human rights resolution, adopted by the UN Third Committee in November 2025, which called on Iran to ensure Iranians have the right to freedom of religion or belief in accordance with its obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
Asked by: Tom Hayes (Labour - Bournemouth East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether her Department has made contingency plans to support democracy in Iran.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon Member to the Foreign Secretary's statement to the House on 13 January, and to my responses in the Urgent Question debate on 19 January.
Asked by: Rosena Allin-Khan (Labour - Tooting)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she has had discussions with international partners on referring human rights abuses against protesters in Iran to (a) the International Criminal Court and (b) other appropriate judicial bodies.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
On 15 January, the Foreign Secretary joined G7 Foreign Ministers in condemning the deliberate use of violence and the killing of protesters, arbitrary detention, and intimidation tactics by security forces against demonstrators. As the Foreign Secretary told Parliament on 13 January, this government has continually raised human rights violations in Iran through the UN and international forums. The UK was integral to the delivery of the Iran human rights resolution, adopted by the UN Human Rights Council in April 2025, which renewed and expanded the Independent Fact-Finding Mission (FFM) on Iran. We continue to support the FFM to thoroughly and independently monitor and investigate allegations of recent and ongoing serious human rights violations in Iran.
Asked by: Preet Kaur Gill (Labour (Co-op) - Birmingham Edgbaston)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps she is taking, in collaboration with the Government of Iran, to preserve freedom of religion or belief amid ongoing protests in Iran.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon Member to the statement made by the Foreign Secretary on 13 January, and her responses to the questions raised in the subsequent debate.
Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many UK diplomats are accredited to (1) the Russian Federation, (2) the People's Republic of China, and (3) the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
The number of accredited diplomats to the UK at these three embassies are: 1) Russia – 30; 2) China – 143 and 3) Iran - 15. This information is publicly available on the London Diplomatic List at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/foreign-embassies-in-the-uk
UK citizens who are members of the Embassies and Consulates of the United Kingdom in (1) the Russian Federation (2) the People’s Republic of China, and (3) the Islamic Republic of Iran are notified to relevant offices of each Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in line with Article 10 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations (VCDR 1961) and Article 19 of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations (VCCR 1963).
Asked by: Lord Empey (Ulster Unionist Party - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government how many diplomats from (1) the Russian Federation, (2) the People's Republic of China, and (3) the Islamic Republic of Iran, are accredited in the UK.
Answered by Baroness Chapman of Darlington - Minister of State (Development)
The number of accredited diplomats to the UK at these three embassies are: 1) Russia – 30; 2) China – 143 and 3) Iran - 15. This information is publicly available on the London Diplomatic List at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/foreign-embassies-in-the-uk
UK citizens who are members of the Embassies and Consulates of the United Kingdom in (1) the Russian Federation (2) the People’s Republic of China, and (3) the Islamic Republic of Iran are notified to relevant offices of each Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in line with Article 10 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations (VCDR 1961) and Article 19 of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations (VCCR 1963).
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what information her Department holds on Iran's role in supporting proxy groups that threaten UK and allied interests in the Middle East.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Rt Hon Member to the statement on Iran made to the House by the Foreign Secretary on 13 January, and her responses to the questions raised in that debate, in which these and other issues were addressed at length.
Asked by: Wendy Morton (Conservative - Aldridge-Brownhills)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what steps she has taken with allies to co-ordinate the countering of Iran’s ballistic missile programme.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Rt Hon Member to the statement on Iran made to the House by the Foreign Secretary on 13 January, and her responses to the questions raised in that debate, in which these and other issues were addressed at length.
Asked by: Vikki Slade (Liberal Democrat - Mid Dorset and North Poole)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to ensure protections for British Iranians who are affected by the violence against protesters taking place in Iran.
Answered by Dan Jarvis - Minister of State (Cabinet Office)
The UK condemns in the strongest of terms the horrendous and brutal killing of Iranian protestors we have seen over recent weeks.
The Iranian authorities must be held accountable for the violence that claimed the lives of thousands of Iranians who were exercising their right to peaceful protest. Last week, in a statement to the House, the Foreign Secretary set out the action that the Government is taking in coordination with allies in response to the consistent threat that the Iranian regime poses to stability, security, freedom and the UK national interest.
The Home Office works closely with other government departments as well as relevant agencies and law enforcement to protect the UK and its people against any threats from the Iranian state.
Asked by: Juliet Campbell (Labour - Broxtowe)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, whether she has contingency plans to support individuals fleeing conflict in the event of military intervention in Iran by the United States.
Answered by Hamish Falconer - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
I refer the Hon Member to the statement the Foreign Secretary made to the House on 13 January, setting out our latest assessment of the position in Iran. We will inform the House of any further updates in that assessment in due course, including on the issues that she mentions.