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Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Answer

Mr. Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the impact of the proliferation of ballistic missiles in Iran on the balance of power in the middle east. [54314] Mrs. Dunwoody: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the impact of the proliferation of ballistic missiles in Iran on the balance of power in the Middle East. [54307] Mr. Fatchett: We were extremely concerned by Iran's flight test of its Shahab 3 ballistic missile in July. The acquisition of this system, with an approximate range of 1300 km, threatens the stability of the whole of the Middle East. We assess that the Shahab 3 is still in its development phase and, consequently, Iran will not be able to deploy the system in the immediate future. Whilst we understand Iran's legitimate security concerns, we have repeatedly urged the Iranian authorities to refrain from developing ballistic missiles. It is in nobody's interest for an arms race to develop in this already volatile region. The UK, as a founder member of the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR), works with its partners to halt the proliferation of ballistic missiles programmes of concern. The MTCR has done much to deny, amongst others, the Iranian ballistic missile programme, key technologies and equipment.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

318 c142-3W; 54307

Session

1997-98

Subjects

Proliferation Iran Middle East Missile Technology Control Regime Guided weapons