Middle East: Iran Conflict

Private Notice Question

Asked by

To ask His Majesty’s Government, further to the announcement by the US and Iran of an agreement to end the conflict in the Middle East, what plans they have, if any, to (1) support the reopening of the Straits of Hormuz and (2) address wider issues of defence and security of the United Kingdom’s Gulf partners.

My Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question of which I have given private notice. I draw attention to my interests in the register as an adviser to the Arab Ambassadors Council and organisations working on conflict resolution in the Middle East.

My Lords, the UK welcomes the agreement between the United States and Iran and commends all involved in securing this diplomatic breakthrough. Our priority now is to support the full implementation of the agreement and to reopen the Strait of Hormuz without conditions or restrictions in line with international law. We stand ready to support the right of transit passage, including through a multinational military mission, which we will lead with France, which will be deployed when conditions allow. We will continue to work closely with our Gulf partners to support security and stability for the region.

My Lords, I am sure that the Minister and all noble Lords will join me in recognising the important role of Pakistan—bohat bohat shukria to Pakistan, and shukran to Qatar for their able support in getting to where we are. But the agreement is still to be signed on Friday, as we know, and we are all too familiar with the vulnerable nature of these agreements. In that respect, I note what the Minister has said, but can I push her further? When specifically will we deploy the minesweepers in which the UK and France have expertise? What additional support can we give in naval assets to our Gulf partners in support agreements such as C-SIPA? How can we extend this agreement to include Lebanon, given the long-standing support of the previous Government and the Government before that to the Lebanese armed forces, so that it can pursue a lasting and sustainable peace, including the disarming of Hezbollah?

These are great questions, and they are the exact questions we have been asking ourselves in the department. This is a framework agreement that we have at the moment. I echo what the noble Lord said: shukran to Pakistan for the role that it has played in bringing the US and Iran to this point. We need to see more detailed negotiations take place and we need to see a lasting ceasefire, so that we can do the work that needs to be done to enable safe passage through the strait. This will include, among other things, checking for mines and minesweeping. We have the necessary equipment to do that, jointly with others, and we are readying ourselves to do so. The noble Lord asked about Lebanon. It is vital that we see the ceasefire extend to Lebanon. As we discussed last week, the Government of Lebanon needs to be supported in order to fight Hezbollah. What has been happening has undermined the Government and reduced their capacity to do so.

My Lords, it is to be welcomed that the Strait of Hormuz is to be opened, but will the Minister confirm that this deal does not cover Iran’s ballistic missiles programme, nor its sponsorship of regional terrorist proxies such as Hamas and Hezbollah, nor the terrorism it organises across the Middle East, here in Europe and even in the UK? It does not cover its internal repression, and, as I understand it, the Iranian regime says it is not going to give up its stockpiles of enriched uranium either. If all that is the case, how can this possibly be regarded as a foundation on which peace and stability can be built in the Middle East?

It is the deal that we have today. It is a framework and it is a start. It is better than we had previously and it is enabling, for now, a ceasefire. The challenge, as I think is alluded to by my noble friend, is that this is just the beginning and there are many things that need to be discussed and agreed upon in order for the ceasefire to have any durability. It is the long-standing position of this Government and our predecessor Governments that we do not wish to see Iran take forward any ambitions that it may have with regard to nuclear weaponry.

My Lords, it is a long way before we will know whether this will be a sustainable end to the conflict, as the Question asks, but if there is a welcome opening of the strait, will the Government work with other Governments to ensure that a priority for shipping will be those that have humanitarian cargo, especially food supplies for the World Food Programme, which is so desperately needed to be distributed but has been held up? If there is to be UK involvement, does the Minister agree that it should be underpinned by the United Nations? This should be multilateral, international law of the seas and should not be pegged to what could well be a fragile and transactional bilateral agreement between America and Iran?

We have been very clear that we want to see the strait opening. We want this to be free of condition and open for all passage, and that is a position that is shared widely. The noble Lord is absolutely right to remind us of the humanitarian needs at stake here. The impact of the closure is felt not just because supplies of fertiliser, food and other goods are being held, although that is certainly an issue, and not just by seafarers who have been held there for a long time, but because of the impact on long-term growth and access to those goods, particularly but not only for sub-Saharan Africa. Let us hope that the strait can be kept open, so that those goods can flow and those economies and those people can be supported.

My Lords, will the Minister clarify one point that I am slightly confused on? If the United States signs a deal in which ships will be paying a toll, is it the position of His Majesty’s Government and that of the French Government, I think, that they will be deploying forces to ensure that ships do not pay tolls?

I do not think anyone is talking about tolls or us patrolling in order to secure payment of tolls. I do not know where the noble Lord has got this from. That is not anything that anyone in the Government is seriously considering.

My Lords, the closure of the Strait of Hormuz has led to some shortages in critical supply chains. I am particularly thinking of fertiliser, which is important for food production here and globally. Have the Government made any assessment of how long it will take, assuming that the current agreement actually holds, for the status quo and normal supplies to be reinstated?

That is really important. Even if the strait were to open immediately for goods to flow, there is already a scarring on many economies. We are particularly concerned about a number of countries in sub-Saharan Africa. The impact will depend on planting seasons and agricultural practices, but it is likely that there is already going to be an impact on food security, in some way or another, in some countries.

My Lords—

My Lords—

It is the turn of the Labour Benches.

My Lords, will the Minister assure me that she and the Government, at the highest levels, intend to congratulate the Prime Minister of Pakistan, Shehbaz Sharif, on an awesome achievement, not just what is going to be signed on Friday but his long-term commitment to an enduring peace?