Michael Keenan (Stirling, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is addressed to the Minister for Foreign Affairs. Would the minister inform the House of Australia’s response to continuing concerns about Iran’s nuclear program?

Alexander Downer (Mayo, Liberal Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

First, I thank the honourable member for Stirling. I know what a lot of interest he has in international relations and what a good job he is doing in Stirling as well. At the recent Board of Governors meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency, of which Australia is a member, Australia supported the resolution which reports Iran’s nuclear program to the United Nations Security Council, and we welcome the very strong support by other members of the board for that resolution. I attended a meeting of a number of foreign ministers in London, primarily to discuss the issue of Afghanistan. Also, during a dinner we were able to focus substantially on Iran. I am pleased to say that there is a very widespread—it is not complete but very widespread—consensus in the international community on how to deal with this issue.

Let us just remember what the simple facts are here. Iran has failed to give credible assurances to the international community that it is not developing a nuclear weapons capability. A nuclear armed Iran would have dire consequences for regional and international security. Reporting Iran to the Security Council is a response—and, I think, a necessary response—to Iran’s lengthy and well-documented record of concealing nuclear activities from the IAEA and to its continuing failure to cooperate fully with the IAEA. This, by the way, I think is essential to enhancing the IAEA’s authority to investigate Iran’s nuclear activities. We remain, of course, committed to a diplomatic solution. Reporting Iran to the Security Council is not the end of diplomatic efforts, but it does mark a new phase in these efforts. The door is still open for Iran to take the steps necessary to restore international confidence. We urge Iran to comply with the board’s latest resolution, including resuming full suspension of its enrichment related activities.

To be honest—and many members of the House would agree with this—international concerns about Iran’s nuclear program have been increased by statements made by the President of Iran expressing a desire to wipe Israel off the map and other, I think, deeply offensive comments about Israel and Jewish people more generally. There is no doubt about it: the rhetoric of the Iranian regime causes deep concern and, considering at the same time that Iran is moving towards the enrichment of uranium and thereby getting closer to a capacity to build nuclear weapons, it is only understandable that the international community is deeply concerned about this. Australia has been playing a key role in ensuring that international efforts are constructive and forceful. We hope that in time they will turn out to be effective.