Member

This latest conduct by the Iranian regime is no aberration and it is no outlier; rather, it is all too in keeping with the fundamental nature and track record of the regime. It is consistent with its previous conduct towards its own people, as we saw during the lethal repression of protesters led by Iranian women following the death in custody of Mahsa Amini at the hands of Iran’s so-called morality police. It is consistent with Iran’s destabilising actions towards its neighbours in the region, as we have seen in its backing of terrorist and extremist proxies—Hezbollah, Hamas and the Houthis—and of militia groups in Iraq and Syria, and from Iran’s barrage of missile attacks on Israel. It is consistent with Iran’s malign global impact, whether in weapons support for Russia against Ukraine or its nuclear programme. It is consistent too with Iran’s state threat activities on UK soil, posing danger to dissidents, journalists and the Jewish community here in the UK, with more than 20 potentially lethal Iran-backed plots over the last year alone, as tracked through the vital work of the UK’s security agencies.