Iran: Nuclear Power

Andrew Rosindell
To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions he has had with the Iranian Government on the development of a nuclear programme in that country in the last month; and what the outcomes were of such discussions.

Mr. Ivan Lewis
My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary met the Iranian Foreign Minister, Manouchehr Mottaki, in the margins of the UN General Assembly on 22 September 2009. He underlined to Mr. Mottaki the need for Iran to restore the international community's confidence in Iran's nuclear programme through the path the E3+3 had laid out, stressing in particular the need for transparency.

The Foreign Secretary and his E3+3 colleagues met on 23 September 2009 and agreed on the E3+3's strategy. Following this, officials from the E3+3 and Iran met on 1 October 2009. This meeting agreed on several practical steps that, if they come to fruition, may build confidence. We look to the next meeting of the group, before the end of October 2009, to make progress on the key issues relating to Iran's nuclear programme.