To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what reports he has received of the recent unrest in Iran; and if he will make a statement. (282508)

Diplomatic and media reporting, based on eyewitness testimony, has highlighted the violent and unacceptable response by the Iranian authorities to peaceful and legitimate protests by the Iranian people.

Iranian state media reports say that more than 20 protestors have been killed. Other reports suggest that several hundred people have been arrested since the announcement of the result by the electoral commission on 13 June 2009.

Both my right hon. Friends the Prime Minister and the Foreign Secretary have made clear on a number of occasions that we deplore the violence against those who seek to protest peacefully, and that the media repression is unacceptable. And we have called on the Iranian authorities to investigate fully allegations that have been made about the election.

We continue to monitor the situation closely.

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps he is taking to ensure the security of staff in the British Embassy in Tehran. (282509)

The safety of our staff and their families in Iran is of paramount concern. We take our responsibility for their security and that of our embassy premises extremely seriously.

In response to the recent political unrest in Iran we changed our travel advice to advise against all but essential travel to Iran. As a consequence of this advice, we withdrew the dependents of our staff from Tehran on 23 June 2009.

We will continue to monitor the situation closely.