Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal North East, Sinn Fein)

Thankfully the talks appear to be moving towards a peaceful conclusion, although that may disappoint certain states in the region. These states may have ambitions for Iran which would not be shared by Ireland. Three experts, Professor Paul Pillar, who worked for the CIA for 28 years and could be accused of having a vested interest against the United States, Peter Jenkins, the UK ambassador to the IAEA between 2001 and 2006, and Hans Blix, the former head of the IAEA, have stated that the November report contains no evidence that Iran is seeking to develop nuclear weapons. Furthermore, the evidence from inspectors on the ground does not back up the claim, which was contained in an appendix full of old allegations which have never been backed up by evidence.

We are bringing the region to the verge of catastrophic conflict because of somebody's agenda. I again ask the Tánaiste why Ireland supports sanctions against Iran despite a lack of evidence that it is seeking to develop nuclear weapons at the same time as offering favourable trade agreements to Israel, which possesses more than 400 nuclear warheads. Why do we permit such double standards? How can Ireland call itself neutral while it takes this approach? We recently upgraded our trade relationship with Israel to allow its pharmaceutical businesses to avail of huge profits. We are rewarding Israel for its belligerent approach while severely punishing Iran without evidence. What good is the non-proliferation treaty when countries are rewarded for not signing up or making themselves accountable to the IAEA while others which seek to comply are punished? How can peace be served by such an approach?

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