Contributions
2,005 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDMiddle EastI remind my hon. Friend that we have the strongest of bilateral defence relationships with Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Oman, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Iraq and…23 Jun 2025HANSARDMiddle EastI can. Of course the regime should recognise the right of Israel to exist, and it should work with the United States and the E3, particularly, to ensure that it is putting…23 Jun 2025HANSARDMiddle EastI am very grateful to my hon. Friend, who is learned in these matters and will have strong views. We are seeking de-escalation and pursuing diplomacy, and we are doing that…23 Jun 2025HANSARDMiddle EastI have liaised with Jordan and with Gulf partners, and I will be speaking to the UAE later on today. We will work with them to keep them safe. My hon. Friend is absolutely right…23 Jun 2025HANSARDMiddle EastI recognise that the right hon. Gentleman has been campaigning on these issues over many years, and has taken strong positions on nuclear proliferation. I do not want to go back…23 Jun 2025HANSARDMiddle EastI refer my hon. Friend to what I have said in the Chamber this afternoon. Of course we believe in the rules-based order and international law. That was precisely why I was in…23 Jun 2025HANSARDMiddle EastAs I have said, from talking to Secretary of State Rubio, Vice-President Vance and envoy Steve Witkoff, that is not the objective of the United States, and of course it is not our…23 Jun 2025HANSARDMiddle EastThe message I gave earlier at the Dispatch Box is in the context of a fast-moving situation and advice that was given by the US shortly before I stood up. Of course we keep our…23 Jun 2025HANSARDMiddle EastFrom my discussions with the United States and with Secretary of State Rubio, that is not their intention; the right hon. Gentleman will have seen that from the thrust of the…23 Jun 2025HANSARDMiddle EastWith Iran enriching at 60% and the International Atomic Energy Agency saying that Iran has no credible civilian justification for that high enrichment level, my hon. Friend is…23 Jun 2025HANSARDMiddle EastI must tell the hon. Gentleman that I qualified and was called to the Bar in 1995 and have not practised for the past 25 years. It is not for me to comment on the United States…23 Jun 2025HANSARDMiddle EastI am grateful to my hon. Friend, and I recall that he also recognises the problems of that nuclear threat and nuclear proliferation. An assessment has not yet been made of the…23 Jun 2025HANSARDMiddle EastI assure the hon. Member that these issues are of course under consideration in the Government. All contingencies are in place, and we are in discussion with our allies about…23 Jun 2025HANSARDMiddle EastWe were not involved. Over the weekend, I spoke to my Cypriot and Lebanese counterparts, and in the days before that, I spoke to all counterparts in the Gulf. Of course we are…23 Jun 2025HANSARDMiddle EastWe do have disagreements with the Government of Israel, and my hon. Friend knows that a few weeks ago we sanctioned two members of that Government. But I remain, and the…23 Jun 2025HANSARDMiddle EastI have of course spoken to our G7 allies over the past two weeks. I have spoken to our partners in the region, in the Levant as well as in the Gulf particularly, and I will…23 Jun 2025HANSARDMiddle EastI am very grateful to my hon. Friend for asking that question and to be able to give that reassurance about our highest levels of force protection for all our wonderful personnel,…23 Jun 2025HANSARDMiddle EastI know the right hon. Gentleman’s strength of feeling on these issues and acknowledge the consistency with which he has pressed them from the Back Benches. I reassure him that in…23 Jun 2025HANSARDMiddle EastI can state again, as I have stated throughout the afternoon, that diplomacy is the way, and I remind the hon. Gentleman that our Government, and successive Governments, have…23 Jun 2025HANSARDMiddle EastI reassure my hon. Friend that I spoke to the Israeli Foreign Minister yesterday. I spoke to him briefly again this morning, and he reassured me that the military targets and the…23 Jun 2025