The 24 November deadline for reaching a comprehensive and unified deal that limits Iran’s nuclear programme is now less than a week away.
Scepticism about Iran’s motives and intentions for these negotiations is hardly surprising given its links to terrorist organisations, the routine failure of its politicians to recognise Israel’s right to exist, its support for the Assad regime, and the widespread suspicion that it has in the past actively been seeking a nuclear weapons capability.
However, it is right to take the opportunity these negotiations provide to try to build a more mature and constructive relationship with Iran, and in this context, the decision to reopen the British Embassy in Tehran, and the prime minister’s decision to meet with President Hassan Rouhani in September were correct. But we must continue to approach the negotiations with considerable care and caution.
Last year’s joint plan of action contained a number of crucial commitments, meaning aspects of Iran’s nuclear programme that were thought to pose the greatest risk could not be developed further during the period of the interim agreement. In addition, some of the most disturbing parts of Iran’s nuclear programme would be significantly scaled back, including the eradication of around 200kg of 20 per cent enriched uranium.
That interim agreement also set out the elements of what a comprehensive solution would look like:
- Adherence to Iran’s obligations and rights under the non-proliferation treaty and International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards
- Full resolution of concerns around the heavy water research reactor at Arak
- An agreement on ensuring transparency and monitoring of Iran’s nuclear programme
- Cooperation in Iran’s civilian nuclear programme
In return for confidence that Iran’s programme is solely peaceful, the plan of action suggests a mutually defined, enrichment based programme, with agreed parameters and limits, but crucially only as part of a comprehensive agreement. Sanctions would begin to be further lifted at that point.
It is the pressure of sanctions, albeit coupled with a readiness to negotiate, that has helped bring Iran to the negotiating table and helped to achieve the progress that has been made.
One crucial test of Iran’s willingness to engage with the profound concerns about possible military dimensions to its nuclear programme surrounds the access the IAEA are given to Iran’s nuclear sites and staff.
It is therefore worrying that a recent confidential IAEA report suggested that Iran had failed to meet an August deadline to provide information regarding two areas of suspicion.
While the priority at the moment is clearly on how to reach an agreement on Iran’s nuclear programme, its human rights record remains of great concern, and ministers must also take every available opportunity to raise such issues.
Earlier this month it was reported that the British-Iranian women’s rights activist Ghoncheh Ghavami had been found guilty of spreading anti-regime propaganda and sentenced to a year in prison after being detained for trying to watch a men’s volleyball match. Amnesty International has described her as a prisoner of conscience, and has raised concerns that Ghavami and her fellow demonstrators were beaten by police officers when they were arrested.
There have been widespread reports of torture and ill treatment in Iranian prisons, including sexual violence, severe beatings, denial of medical treatment, and long periods of solitary confinement. The number of executions is up. Indeed, Iran has the highest execution rate per capita in the world. In addition, human rights defenders, journalists and bloggers have been arrested and their work censored.
While in theory Judaism, Christianity and Zoroastrianism are recognised alongside Islam, religious minorities continue to face discrimination, with converts particularly affected. There have been reports of harassment, desecration of religious sites, restricted access to education and employment, and even arrest and torture. Members of the Baha’i faith, which is not recognised, have been especially discriminated against.
The situation for lesbian and gay people is profoundly worrying. Homosexual acts are criminalised, gay people are executed simply for being gay, and many lesbian and gay people have reported that they have been denied access to education or dismissed from employment once their sexuality has become known.
The date of 24 November marks a critical point in our relationship with Iran. Given the profound international concern about Iran’s nuclear ambitions, its destabilising influence in the wider region and its human rights record, the successful completion of a comprehensive agreement could represent the beginning of a new phase in the relationship between our two countries.
Labour has supported the government’s work in building on the approach to the nuclear negotiations that was taken by the last government, and continues to do so. I hope that Iran will take the opportunity presented by the negotiations to ease international concerns about its nuclear ambitions. It needs to.
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Gareth Thomas MP is shadow minister for foreign affairs
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Photo: Truthout