Asked by: Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi (Labour - Slough)
Question to the Ministry of Defence:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many people in (a) Iran, (b) Pakistan and (c) other third countries eligible for relocation under the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy are still awaiting relocation.
Answered by James Heappey
As of 28 February 2024, there are 1,254 ARAP eligible applicants (EPs) in Pakistan and 1,037 EPs in other third countries who are awaiting relocation to the United Kingdom.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of reports of the seizure of 100 hectares of land belonging to Baha’i farmers by agents of the Iranian state in the Province of Mazandaran in January; and what steps they are taking to raise this matter through bilateral or multilateral means.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK condemns the continued persecution of religious minorities in Iran and we are aware of recent reports of land expropriation discriminately targeting the Baha'i community. At the 78th UN General Assembly, we co-sponsored the Iran Human Rights Resolution calling for Iran to eliminate, in law and in practice, all forms of discrimination on the basis of thought, conscience, religion or belief. We are committed to promoting religious freedom and will continue to work with partners and the UK Baha'i community to hold the Iranian authorities to account.
Asked by: Lord Alton of Liverpool (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the persecution of members of the Baha’i community, including of reports of the expropriation of farming land in Mazandaran Province; and what assessment they have made of the impact of these actions on this community.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The UK condemns the continued persecution of religious minorities in Iran and we are aware of recent reports of land expropriation discriminately targeting the Baha'i community. At the 78th UN General Assembly, we co-sponsored the Iran Human Rights Resolution calling for Iran to eliminate, in law and in practice, all forms of discrimination on the basis of thought, conscience, religion or belief. We are committed to promoting religious freedom and will continue to work with partners and the UK Baha'i community to hold the Iranian authorities to account.
Asked by: Lord Blencathra (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Home Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government for what reasons the Islamic Army of Aden is a proscribed organisation; and whether they have any plans to proscribe the Houthi group as a proscribed organisation.
Answered by Lord Sharpe of Epsom - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Home Office)
The Islamic Army of Aden was proscribed in March 2001. It has a history of involvement in attempts to overthrow the Government of Yemen, including through use of terrorism to establish an Islamic State following Sharia Law.
The UK Government has been unequivocal: the illegal attacks by the Iran-backed Houthis on commercial shipping in the Red Sea, as well as attacks against British and allied warships, are unacceptable and will not be tolerated. Together with the US, the UK Government has imposed coordinated sanctions on the Houthis. This is in addition to the US-UK led strikes, conducted with support from the Netherlands, Canada, Bahrain and Australia.
The Government does not routinely comment whether an organisation is under consideration for proscription. The Government keeps the list of proscribed organisations under review.
Asked by: Gregory Campbell (Democratic Unionist Party - East Londonderry)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, with reference to the Oral Statement of the Secretary of State for Defence of 5 February 2024 on Situation in the Red Sea, Official Report, column 22, whether the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs discussed the consequences to Iran of failing to stop Houthi attacks during his meeting with his Iranian counterpart last month.
Answered by David Rutley - Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Foreign Secretary sent a clear message during his meeting with his Iranian counterpart on 17 January. The Foreign Secretary made clear that Iran must use its influence with the Houthis to prevent further strikes, and that Iran must cease its support to the Houthi's illegal and unacceptable attacks. We will continue to work with international partners to deter Iran's destabilising activity, including by holding Iran to account in multilateral fora and through sanctions; addressing Iranian weapons proliferation; and maintaining our permanent defence presence in the region.
Asked by: Lord Sedwill (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have made any representations to the governments of (1) India, or (2) China, regarding Iran’s support for militias attacking western forces and international shipping in the Middle East.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Defence Secretary raised Iran backed Houthi rebels attacking international shipping in the Middle East with his Indian counterpart in January. India is contributing to international naval efforts to help secure shipping in the region. We also raised this with China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, urging them to use their relationship with Iran to convey that Iran should pressure the Houthis in line with China's call for the cessation of attacks and harassment against civilian ships.
Asked by: Robert Buckland (Conservative - South Swindon)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what diplomatic steps he is taking to help prevent the escalation of violence on the Pakistani-Iranian border.
Answered by Anne-Marie Trevelyan - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Foreign Secretary made clear to the Iranian Foreign Minister, who he met on 17 January, that Iran must stop using the regional situation as cover to act recklessly. Lord (Tariq) Ahmad, Minister of State for South Asia, spoke to the Pakistani Foreign Minister on 19 January and underlined the importance of avoiding further escalation. This complements high-level diplomatic discussions led by UK officials in Pakistan.
Asked by: Lord Sedwill (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have made any representations to the government of Iran regarding ceasing their support for militias attacking western forces in the Middle East.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government has long condemned Iran's political, financial, and military support to several militant and proscribed groups, including the Houthis and Iranian-aligned militia groups in Iraq and Syria. The current and former Foreign Secretaries have directly raised Iran's support for these groups with the Iranian Foreign Minister three times since 7 October 2023. They made clear in all their conversations that Iran must use its influence with groups in the region to prevent escalation and that the regime bore responsibility for the actions of groups they had supported over many years.
Asked by: Lord Sedwill (Crossbench - Life peer)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have made any representations to the government of Iran regarding Houthi attacks on international shipping.
Answered by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office)
The Government has long condemned Iran's political, financial, and military support to several militant and proscribed groups, including the Houthis and Iranian-aligned militia groups in Iraq and Syria. The current and former Foreign Secretaries have directly raised Iran's support for these groups with the Iranian Foreign Minister three times since 7 October 2023. They made clear in all their conversations that Iran must use its influence with groups in the region to prevent escalation and that the regime bore responsibility for the actions of groups they had supported over many years.
Asked by: Tobias Ellwood (Conservative - Bournemouth East)
Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:
To ask the Minister of State, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, what assessment he has made with international counterparts of the extent to which foreign states were involved in the drone attack on the Tower 22 US base in Jordan on 28 January 2024.
Answered by Andrew Mitchell - Minister of State (Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) (Minister for Development)
We strongly condemn attacks by Iran-aligned militia groups against US forces. We continue to urge Iran to de-escalate in the region. Our thoughts are with those US personnel who have sustained injuries, as well as their families.