Britain’s Straw warns of Iran’s “incontrovertible” missile threat

Iran Focus: London, Nov. 30 – British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw told a House of Commons debate on Tuesday that the Iranian government was incontrovertibly developing long-range missiles and warned that Tehran might face United Nations Security Council action if it continued with its nuclear non-compliance. Iran Focus

London, Nov. 30 – British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw told a House of Commons debate on Tuesday that the Iranian government was incontrovertibly developing long-range missiles and warned that Tehran might face United Nations Security Council action if it continued with its nuclear non-compliance.

“The fact that the government of Iran are developing longer range missiles is incontrovertible”, Straw said.

The British Foreign Secretary said that there was “a lot of circumstantial evidence that has raised significant anxieties in the minds of the international community” regarding Iran’s suspected nuclear weapons program.

He added that Britain, France, and Germany – the “E3” – had taken the lead through the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) for the past two and a half years to find a solution to the international standoff over Tehran’s nuclear threat. “If we judge that Iran’s non-compliance is continuing and is unacceptable, and if we have international support, it remains open to us to refer the matter to the Security Council, and we will do so”.

He said that there had been increasing co-operation in recent months with India, Russia and China in respect of the Iran dossier before the IAEA board of governors. India helpfully voted with the E3 in the board of governors on 24 September, which meant that there was a significant majority, rather than a bare majority, when Iran was declared as non-compliant with its safeguards agreement under the non-proliferation treaty.

The British Foreign Secretary hinted there were elements inside Iran trying to use the nuclear power program to develop nuclear weapons. “If we are divided, we will end up in a position in which there are far too many opportunities for those in Iran to exploit the situation. That is why we work with such care. If and when we need to take tough decisions in the IAEA board of governors, I hope that India, China and Russia will actively support us”.