Written question asked by Llew Smith (Labour), in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 15 October 1996. It was answered by Lord Soames of Fletching (Conservative) on Tuesday, 15 October 1996 on behalf of the Ministry of Defence.

Ministry of Defence

Question: What recent assessment he has made of the biological weapons capacity of Iran.

Answer: Mr. Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent assessment he has made of the biological weapons capacity of Iran. [40506] Mr. Soames: Iran has a developed biotechnology industry which would be capable of sustaining a biological warfare research programme. For this reason, it is a cause for concern that Iran, though a state party to the biological and toxin weapons convention since 1973, has not offered to submit to the UN centre for disarmament affairs any confidence-building and transparency declarations.

Secondary information