Written question asked by Stephen Twigg (Labour) on Tuesday, 11 January 2000, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 19 January 2000. It was answered by Lord Hain (Labour) on Wednesday, 19 January 2000 on behalf of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the progress made by Iran towards the acquisition of non-conventional weapons.

Answer: Mr. Stephen Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent assessment he has made of the progress made by Iran towards the acquisition of non-conventional weapons. [104996] Mr. Hain: In conjunction with other Government Departments, we regularly assess the status of efforts by a number of countries to develop or acquire weapons of mass destruction and the means to deliver them. Such assessments draw heavily on intelligence sources and we are therefore unable to comment further. Iran is a Non-Nuclear-Weapon State Party to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and a State Party to the Chemical Weapons Convention and the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention. We continue to encourage Iran to respect these treaties and to comply fully with its obligations under them.

Secondary information