Oral question asked in the House of Commons, by Ian Taylor (Conservative). It was answered on Monday, 22 February 2010 on behalf of the Ministry of Defence.

Iran

Question: The Secretary of State will well know that the nuclear issue is the focus of attention. What concerns me is whether the military preparations in Iran are sufficient to give it the flexibility to make a conventional attack on any of its neighbouring countries. We saw the loss of life during the Iran-Iraq war, which was horrendous, and we saw the Iranian Government's lack of value of life. Could that happen again and is there a strategic threat to the United Kingdom's interests?

Answer: We would like to encourage Iran to be a good neighbour, to take its part in the region and to be a positive force in that regard. Notwithstanding what I have said about its conventional capability eroding over time and about its not being able to maintain that capability, we have seen it create difficulties through proxies for its neighbouring countries. We would ask it seriously to reconsider that and to join the international community in providing a secure environment for the region. That would be in the interests of Iran as well as the wider middle east.

Secondary information