Interview: Falconer says UK government clear-eyed to threat posed by Tehran to UK Jews
Middle East minister Hamish Falconer spoke to Jewish News about E3 decision to impose snapback sanctions on Iran
Middle East minister Hamish Falconer has insisted the UK government remains “clear-eyed” about the threat the Iranian regime poses to British Jews in this country, adding this is one reason why Tehran now faces the reimposition of sweeping new sanctions.
Speaking to Jewish News after the UK, Germany and France confirmed they would impose sanctions and other restrictive measures on Iran in 30 days unless committed to diplomacy around its nuclear programme, Falconer also said he had been “crystal clear” to his Iranian counterparts that the safety of UK Jewry was this government’s “foremost priority”.
He added that if Iran now decided to further threaten or harm British nationals in this country, “we will respond with the seriousness that that deserves as and when we see that threat emerge.”
Asked if Thursday’s decision to trigger the “snapback” mechanism by the trio of E3 nations signalled a seemingly now inevitable breakdown of diplomatic efforts, the Labour minister said there “is still a window,” but he also admitted the opportunity to resolve the situation through diplomacy was “a narrow one.” UK moves to reimpose sanctions on Iran over ‘significant’ concerns about its nuclear programme
UK officials had earlier confirmed there were “significant” concerns about Tehran’s non-compliance with a 2015 agreement to limit its nuclear programme.
Falconer said he was well aware that some in the UK’s Jewish community had concerns with the government’s policy in relation to Israel’s war in Gaza, and over the possibility that the UK could recognise a Palestinian state next month.
The Board of Deputies vice president Adrian Cohen said the communal organisation welcomed the Government’s decision to trigger the snapback of sanctions on the Iranian Regime.
Cohen added the move was “fully justified considering the regime’s undimmed nuclear ambition” and said Tehran remained “committed to Israel’s destruction.”
The Jewish Leadership Council also praised the government’s move saying Iran was a threat “regionally and globally” either through funding of proxy groups in the Middle East “to plots on the streets of London.”
Ahead of meeting with the Board on Thursday night, Falconer was also keen to provide reassurance that in relation to its stance on Iran, the UK government had the entire community’s safety at the top of its priority list.
“I want to reassure the Jewish community in the UK that in regards to some of the antisemitic rhetoric that has been associated with the Iranian regime, directed particularly at them that firstly, we are clear-eyed about the threat that Iran can pose to them, and to other communities, and that’s one reason why we’re taking the action that we have today,” Falconer told Jewish News.
“The second thing I’d say is we are absolutely committed to the security of British Jewry. We’ve allocated 18 million pounds per year to the Community Security Trust, and we speak and meet with them regularly.
“And I have been crystal clear with my Iranian counterparts that the security of the Jewish community, indeed all communities, is absolutely our foremost priority, and regardless of what else is going on in the world.”
In recent days, nuclear inspectors from the IAEA have returned to Iran for the first time since the 12-day-long conflict with Israel in June. But it has emerged they are facing restrictions on their movements, including being denied access to the main sites of Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan.
Falconer said:”I don’t want to speculate on why Iran might be failing to allow the inspectors to see the full range of sites, but we have been clear with them repeatedly that it is seeing the full range of sites, all in accordance with their IAEA ( International Atomic Energy Agency) obligations, that makes the difference right now”.
“I think we all need to be proceeding on the basis of a common understanding of the Iranian programme, ” added the minister. “So this is a relatively black or white question for the Iranians. “Do you allow inspectors to do their job, or do you let them see some sites and not others?
“The purpose of IAEA compliance is that you give everybody a common understanding of the same program. . I’m sure that there will be protests from the Iranian side that they’ve let inspectors in. Letting inspectors in is not the same as letting them do their job properly.”
The MP for Lincoln, whose father is influential Labour peer and barrister Lord Charlie Falconer, who served as Justice Secretary under Tony Blair, also emphasised how the UK, along with its European partners, had tried to make progress with Iranian diplomats, but talks held as recently as last Tuesday failed to produce any breakthrough.
Snapback UN sanctions, which will hit Tehran’s economic, banking and defence sectors hard again, will be implemented in 30 days if Iran does not signal a change in its approach, but Falconer adds “time is running short – you simply can’t enrich uranium 45 times over the JCPOA (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action) limit”.
” Iran is now the only country in the world that does not have a nuclear weapons program that has this quantity of enriched UAU,” he added.
“We have tried repeatedly, not just this year, though we have tried, I think, six times over the last year to try and make progress with them.”
The UK, says Falconer, would now expect Iran “just as I would expect any country, to abide by their international obligations to peace and security under the UN Security Council”.
Aware that the immediate response from Iran, including from its foreign minister, has been to threaten a harsh reaction to the sanctions move, Falconer added:”I am sure the Iranians will think carefully about what their obligations are under international law.
“And in terms of our consequences, can I be clear with you, Lee, that the state of Iran’s malign actions beyond their borders is a sort of real concern to the UK.
“Particularly the numerous attempts in the UK to harm British nationals and others here, and we will respond with the seriousness that that deserves as and when we see that threat emerge.”
Asked if the UK’s thorny relationship with Israel at the moment was an issue, despite our tough stance on Iran, he said the potential proliferation of nuclear weapons is “not just a regional concern, but a global concern.”
“The IAEA said there are nine significant quantities of unaccounted for material, each of which would be sufficient to conduct a nuclear weapon,” added Falconer.
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