Written question asked by Michael Ellis (Conservative) on Wednesday, 11 January 2012, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 16 January 2012. It was answered by Alistair Burt (Conservative) on Tuesday, 17 January 2012 on behalf of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Iran: Sanctions

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had on the effectiveness of the international community's Iranian sanctions programme.

Answer: I have had a wide range of discussions with the UK's international partners about the effectiveness of sanctions against Iran. The E3+3 group—made up of the UK, US, France, Germany, Russia and China—supports a policy of pressure on and engagement with Iran. The EU has supported a range of strong sanctions against Iran, designed to bring it back to the negotiating table on the nuclear issue and—separately—to highlight our concerns about Iranian human rights abuses. We and our partners believe that sanctions on the nuclear issue can slow the development of the Iranian programme, as well as pressing Iran to negotiate seriously with the international community.

Secondary information