Iraq and Iran
Mr. Gormley: Will the Minister agree that one of the lasting consequences of the war in Iraq is that the position of Iran has been strengthened substantially and that the Shiites in Iraq are in the ascendency? Will he agree this is partly the reason the Iranians have been emboldened to move forward with a nuclear programme?
Mr. D. Ahern: I do not honestly know. They maintain they have made a decision to put in place nuclear energy facilities in their state which is their entitlement under the NPT. It was made clear to me when I met the Iranian ambassador to the UN that they had made a policy decision to go nuclear and that they were putting in place facilities. He had with him a member of the Iranian Parliament who said that because of the impending elections their ability, or non-ability, to move on this was a strong political issue within Iran. The Deputy asked if this had emboldened on them in this area. I cannot honestly say but this area is a tinderbox and it has to be dealt with strongly and to a large extent in a diplomatic way. We have to show there is a mutual interest for the EU, the wider international community and also for Iran in regard to better relationships with a block such as the EU which is on its doorstep.