6 Looking Ahead
62. The diplomatic crisis sparked by this incident
is likely to have some implications on the future relationship
between the UK and Iran. Lord Triesman told us some of the outline
of Sir Nigel Sheinwald's crucial discussion with Dr Ali Larijani.
He said that they had talked about the "possibilities for
future substantive discussion that would benefit both sides by
making a better relationship."[99]
During our private hearing, he made a related point:
One way or another, Larijani, Sheinwald, us,
the ambassador here and Foreign Secretary Mottaki now have some
channels that are more active and more likely to be the conduits
for serious business than we have had for some time.[100]
63. Lord Triesman also took the opportunity to discuss
Iranian security fears in the Shatt al-Arab waterway. He said
"we needed better security arrangements in the region",
and that "it was hard […] not to understand the degree
of sensitivity that they were expressing about what they saw as
their security problems." He suggested that proper mechanisms
could help to avoid such incidents in the future.[101]
64. The Government has announced that it will be
undergoing a review into its relationship with Iran following
the incident.[102]
Sir Richard Dalton warned of why such a diplomatic response may
be difficult:
We do not have that many bilateral levers to
use against Iran. There should be some attempt to find an area
of our co-operation with Iran which is valuable to Iran and which
we can withdraw for a period in order to underline our rejection
of what they did and how they did it.[103]
However, he argued that "it is possible in such
circumstances to find something to retaliate with which is actually
cutting off your nose to spite your face."[104]
65. We conclude that Iran deserves strong censure
for its illegal and provocative seizure of a group of lightly
armed British personnel who posed no threat to its interests or
security. We further conclude that it is a matter of urgency that
systems are established to ensure that a repeat situation cannot
occur. We recommend that, in its response to this Report, the
Government set out what steps have been taken in this regard.
99 Q 99 Back
100
Q 132 Back
101
Q 132 Back
102
"Diplomacy is not weak: it works", Daily Telegraph,
14 April 2007 Back
103
Q 37 Back
104
Q 38 Back
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