Ireland has expressed its unequivocal condemnation of the violence, killing and brutal repression of protestors by the authorities in Iran. We raise our concerns about Iran’s human rights abuses and use of the death penalty bilaterally, in the EU, and in multilateral fora such as the Human Rights Council and the United Nations Third Committee on Human Rights. We have consistently called on Iran to ensure full respect for its international human rights obligations. I have addressed this issue in more detail in my reply to Question 37430/26 today.
The contacts between the United States and Iran to try and end the recent conflict are being conducted privately, with the support of a small number of countries as intermediaries. The details of these contacts are not shared with other Governments, including Ireland. We understand that the central issues under discussion are the conflict itself, the opening of the Strait of Hormuz, and the nature of Iran’s nuclear programme. There are many other issues of concern in relation to Iran, including very strong concerns about human rights issues.
A key concern for the Government at this time is that this conflict is brought to a definitive end, including a resolution of the nuclear issue which was a major contributing factor. In this context, Ireland has consistently called for dialogue and diplomacy. We therefore welcome that the contacts between the US and Iran are continuing, and urge all parties to engage with all efforts towards peace. Ireland has further called on all parties to uphold international law, including the protection of civilians.
