Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)

The Iranian ambassador is not in residence in Dublin. Previous to the President's comments, we were made aware from newspaper reports of the detention but we only received official word in the past week to the effect that he is no longer the ambassador.

I note the Deputy's response to the Iranian President's comments.

The EU response was issued last Monday. It was a very strong response from the 25 members of the EU. However, this is built into the issue of the nuclear programme currently in place in Iran. The discussions on the nuclear issue are at a very sensitive phase and in the next fortnight there will be a board of governors' meeting of the IAEA. Obviously we are trying to arrive at a situation where the dialogue that has taken place, but which is now temporarily suspended, will be renewed. Ultimately, we want to arrive at a point where there is full transparency regarding what is going on in Iran with its nuclear programme to ensure that it fits in with the NPT.

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