Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The ambassador spoke about the centrality and importance of his country with regard to conflicts in the region. How many refugees has Iran taken in from Afghanistan, Syria and Iraq? Does Iran get international support in this regard? When we were in Tehran we spoke about the drug situation, particularly drugs coming from Afghanistan. At one stage there was an agreement between the European Union, Iran and other countries in the region on drug smuggling. This agreement has fallen apart and one of the reasons given by the Iranian Minister for Foreign Affairs was that drug smugglers are executed in Iran. Is there potential to have co-operation again between international players in the region, particularly the European Union? How does the ambassador see this developing in the future? When we were there we were told the poppy crop in the region had quadrupled. Much of it goes through Iran but there are other corridors also. People in Europe and other regions are concerned it will end up on the streets. We already see drugs getting cheaper in Dublin. I am interested to hear the ambassador's response.

With regard to the Palestinian situation, many calls have been made for restraint from all sides, which is usual when there is conflict. Does the ambassador agree there is no equity of response with regard to what happens in the region? There is no equality in what is happening between Hamas and the Israelis or between the Palestinians and Israel. This in itself is part of the problem which needs to be resolved. The US Government has tried to initiate talks. How important does the ambassador see the role of the European Union in being engaged in discussions to bring meaningful dialogue and a peaceful outcome to the difficulties in the region?