Further to the comments from the right hon. Member for Harlow (Robert Halfon), it is two years since the introduction of the Magnitsky legislation, which was designed to deal with designated persons guilty of human rights violations and other serious offences. Given the continuing abuses in Iran, why has that not been used against a single prison governor, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps commander or senior member of the regime, and when will that be remedied?

What steps her Department plans to take to counter Iran's destabilising use of proxies in the Middle East.

Mr Speaker, you may recall that it was against considerable Whitehall resistance—it needed pressure from this House—that we got the Government to ban Hezbollah. I hope that the Minister will be more receptive to recognising that the IRGC is at the heart of destabilising proxy wars across the middle east and further afield, and that she will show more urgency in joining our allies in the United States in proscribing the IRGC.

The hostility with Iran has caused even greater friendship between the adjoining Arab countries and the state of Israel, so is not now the time to follow the US and some other countries by moving the British embassy from Tel Aviv to the capital of Israel, where its Parliament is, Jerusalem?

When we are talking about the people in power in Tehran and their proxies around the world, whom my right hon. Friend the Member for Warley (John Spellar) mentioned, we are talking about clerical fascists, who would probably have been on the same side as the Nazis if they had been around 80 years ago. Why can we not just get on with it and ban the IRGC, as we banned Hezbollah?

It is a mistake for the west to regard Iran’s sponsorship of proxies as somehow being a non-strategic irritant, as there is a continuous thread that links its sponsorship of terror with its ballistics programme and its march towards acquiring nuclear weapons capability. So does my right hon. Friend agree that we should not repeat the mistakes of the past and that any revised nuclear deal with Iran should be accompanied by very strong measures to discourage it from being the world’s largest sponsor of terrorism?

I am sure that the whole House will accept the apologies from the Foreign Secretary, my right hon. Friend the Member for South West Norfolk (Elizabeth Truss), who is otherwise engaged today.

The UK maintains a range of sanctions to constrain Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps malign activity. Maritime interdictions in January and February 2022 led to the seizure of advanced conventional weapons travelling from Iran to the Houthis in Yemen. We support the strengthening of state institutions in Iraq and Lebanon, and work to end the conflict in Yemen and Syria.

We do not routinely comment on intelligence matters or specific threats. The safety and security of our citizens is the Government's top priority. As we made clear in the 2021 Integrated Review of Security, Defence, Development and Foreign Policy, we are committed to addressing growing threats from Iran, as well as other states. We will continue to use all tools at our disposal to protect the UK and our interests from any Iran-linked threats.

Iran has been in non-compliance with its nuclear commitments under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPoA) since 2019 and its nuclear programme has never been more advanced than it is today. Iran's escalation of its nuclear activities is threatening regional and international peace and security and undermining the global non-proliferation system.

There has been is a viable deal on the table since March which would return Iran to compliance with its JCPoA commitments and return the US to the deal. The deal would reverse Iran's nuclear escalation, return Iran's nuclear programme to strict JCPoA limits and restore extensive monitoring by the International Atomic Energy Agency. Iran has so far refused to conclude the deal and continued its nuclear escalation. If Iran fails to conclude the deal its nuclear escalation will cause the collapse of the JCPoA. In this scenario we would carefully consider all options in partnership with our allies.

Iran has been in non-compliance with its nuclear commitments under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPoA) since 2019 and its nuclear programme has never been more advanced than it is today. Iran's escalation of its nuclear activities is threatening regional and international peace and security and undermining the global non-proliferation system.

There has been a viable deal on the table since March which would return Iran to compliance with its JCPoA commitments and return the US to the deal. The deal would reverse Iran's nuclear escalation, return Iran's nuclear programme to strict JCPoA limits and restore extensive monitoring by the International Atomic Energy Agency. If Iran fails to conclude the deal its nuclear escalation will cause the collapse of the JCPoA. In this scenario we would carefully consider all options in partnership with our allies.

We note the US and Israel adopted the Jerusalem Strategic Partnership Joint Declaration in July 2022. The UK's long-standing objective is that Iran must never be allowed to acquire a nuclear weapon. Iran has been in non-compliance with its nuclear commitments under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPoA) since 2019 and its nuclear programme has never been more advanced than it is today. Iran's escalation of its nuclear activities is threatening regional and international peace and security and undermining the global non-proliferation system.

There has been a viable deal on the table since March which would return Iran to compliance with its JCPoA commitments, and return the US to the deal. The deal would reverse Iran's nuclear escalation, return Iran's nuclear programme to strict JCPoA limits and restore extensive monitoring by the International Atomic Energy Agency. If Iran fails to conclude the deal its nuclear escalation will cause the collapse of the JCPoA. In this scenario we would carefully consider all options in partnership with our allies.

The UK opposes any state providing material or diplomatic support for Russia's unprovoked, illegal and brutal war in Ukraine. We continue to stand with Ukraine in the face of Russian aggression, including through providing £2.3 billion of military support.

Reports that Russia intends to buy drones from Iran corroborate our assessment that, 6 months after Putin invaded Ukraine, Russia is struggling militarily and is isolated internationally. The UK is committed to working with the international community to hold Iran to account for its destabilising activity.

Iran continues to develop its ballistic missile programme, which is destabilising for the region and poses a threat to European security. UN Security Council Resolution 2231 (UNSCR 2231), which was unanimously adopted in the Security Council and underpins the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPoA), calls on Iran not to undertake activities related to ballistic missiles designed to be capable of delivering a nuclear weapon, including launches using such ballistic missile technology. Alongside France and Germany, we have written regularly to the UN Secretary-General, most recently on 24 May, to draw attention to Iranian missile activity inconsistent with UNSCR 2231 and raised this at the UN Security Council on 30 June. We urge Iran to fully abide by UNSCR 2231 and all other relevant resolutions.

On 27 July the Tahbaz family confirmed Morad has been released from Evin prison on furlough and is at their home in Tehran. This welcome development follows intensive diplomatic efforts at all levels, by the UK and our partners. Morad Tahbaz is a UK-US-Iranian tri-national, and we will continue to work closely with the United States to secure his permanent release and departure from Iran. We urge the Government of Iran to end its practice of unfairly detaining British and other foreign nationals, and we will continue to work with likeminded partners to that end.

Iran has been non-compliant with its nuclear commitments since 2019. Iran's nuclear programme has never been more advanced than it is today. Iran's escalation of its nuclear activities is threatening regional and international peace and security and undermining the global non-proliferation system.

We have reached the end of talks in Vienna to restore the nuclear deal. There is a viable deal on the table which would return Iran to compliance with its Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPoA) commitments, and return the US to the deal. The deal would reverse Iran's nuclear escalation, return Iran's nuclear programme to strict JCPoA limits and restore extensive monitoring by the International Atomic Energy Agency. If Iran fails to conclude the deal its nuclear escalation will cause the collapse the JCPoA. In this scenario we would carefully consider all options in partnership with our allies.

We condemn the persecution of current and former BBC Persian employees and their family members and the many individuals who have had their assets frozen or are banned from leaving Iran. These actions by the Iranian authorities contravene multiple international obligations and we will continue to call them out for as long as they commit them. We regularly raise this issue of harassment directly with the Iranian Government, as well as in multilateral fora.

In March 2022, the UK's Global Ambassador for Human Rights, Rita French, delivered a statement to the Human Rights Council in Geneva, underlining that the Government of Iran has continued to violate human rights, including the rights of journalists and reiterated our demand that Iran improve its human rights situation.

Iran's nuclear programme is more advanced than ever, and is continuing to worsen. This includes producing Highly Enriched Uranium which is unprecedented for a state without a nuclear weapons programme. Iran's nuclear escalation is threatening international security and undermining the global non-proliferation system.

We have reached the end of talks in Vienna to restore the nuclear deal. There is a viable deal on the table which would return Iran to compliance with its Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPoA) commitments, and return the US to the deal. If Iran fails to conclude the deal its nuclear escalation will collapse the JCPoA. In this scenario we would carefully consider all options in partnership with our allies.

Iran's nuclear programme is more advanced than ever, and is continuing to worsen. This includes producing Highly Enriched Uranium which is unprecedented for a state without a nuclear weapons programme. Iran's nuclear escalation is threatening international security and undermining the global non-proliferation system.

We have reached the end of talks in Vienna to restore the nuclear deal. There is a viable deal on the table which would return Iran to compliance with its Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPoA) commitments, and return the US to the deal. If Iran fails to conclude the deal its nuclear escalation will collapse the JCPoA. In this scenario we would carefully consider all options in partnership with our allies.

We continue to have regular discussions with a range of regional and international partners, including Israel, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and the UAE on the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action and Iran's nuclear escalation. We are clear that our priority is to see Iran return to compliance with its commitments and the US to return to the deal. Our commitment to the security of our allies is unwavering.   The UK is committed to working with the international community to ensure Iran abides by international laws and norms and is held to account for its destabilising activity in the region.

It is for this reason that we currently have over 200 sanctions designations in place against Iran, including the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in its entirety, and support the enforcement of UN prohibitions on the proliferation of weapons to non-state actors in the region, including to Lebanese Hizballah (UNSCR 1701) and the Houthis in Yemen (UNSCR 2216).

Our commitment to Israel's security is unwavering. Israel is an important strategic partner for the UK and we collaborate closely on issues of defence and security. This includes regular discussions at the highest levels on the threat posed by destabilising Iranian activity across the region. The Foreign Secretary most recently raised this issue during a call with Israeli Foreign Minister Lapid on 22 June.