Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)

I propose to take Questions Nos. 6 and 67 together.

I was appalled by the reported statement by President Ahmadinejad on 26 October on the existence of the state of Israel. Officials of my Department immediately contacted the Iranian Embassy in Dublin to convey the Government's clear view that the reported comments of the President were entirely unacceptable. The ambassador of Iran was not in Dublin — we have since been formally notified that he has been recalled by his Government — and our views were conveyed at the most senior diplomatic level available. I also made a public statement condemning the reported comments and in subsequent media interviews repeated the view already conveyed to the Iranian authorities that remarks on these lines can only have a negative effect in a troubled region and contribute nothing to relations between the EU and Iran.

The President's statement came on the day of another horrific suicide attack in Israel which took the lives of five people and injured many more. I strongly condemned this attack and expressed my concern that the President of Iran should have chosen to make these comments against such a background of hate-inspired violence.

On the same day, the UN Secretary General, Mr. Annan, expressed his dismay at the remarks of President Ahmadinejad and on 28 October they were condemned by the UN Security Council. The Secretary General has also postponed a planned visit to Iran.

The meeting of the General Affairs and External Relations Council, which I attended in Brussels on 7 November, also condemned the President's comments in the strongest terms. The Council deplored calls for violence and for the destruction of any state. It emphasised that these comments cause concern about Iran's role in the region and its future intentions.

I welcome the immediate and firm response of the international community on this issue. The Iranian Government can have been left in no doubt of the international isolation in which its President's remarks placed it. It is notable that the Iranian Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, has already stated publicly that Iran is not threatening any other state.

Looking to the future with a view to the reduction of tensions in the region, the General Affairs and External Relations Council underlined the long-standing importance which the EU attaches to sustainable political and economic reform in Iran and the importance of the comprehensive dialogue between the EU and Iran as an appropriate framework for discussing issues of mutual interest and concern. These include areas of long-standing concern to the EU, such as terrorism, the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, Iran's approach to the Middle East peace process, human rights and fundamental freedoms and regional issues. The evolution of the long-term relationship, including the avoidance of a deterioration in relations between the EU and Iran, will depend on action by Iran to address effectively all the EU's concerns.

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