Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour)
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Question 92: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs the decisions reached at the most recent foreign affairs meeting of the European Union he attended with regard to the most recent assessment by the IAEA of Iran's enrichment of plutonium programme. [30879/07]

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 330: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs the extent to which he and his EU and UN colleagues have engaged in the ongoing situation in Iran with particular reference to the alleged development of the nuclear industry for other than domestic purposes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31225/07]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 92 and 330 together.

The Government and our EU partners share the widespread international concern at Iran's continuing refusal to comply with its international obligations in relation to its nuclear programme.

At the meeting of the General Affairs and External Affairs Council which I attended in Brussels on 19 November, we reviewed developments on Iran, including the latest report by the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Dr. Mohammed El Baradei, which was published on 15 November. He reported on the operation of the Work Plan agreed between the IAEA and Iran in August, indicating that progress had been made in answering outstanding questions on the history of Iran's nuclear programme, and that some of these questions have been satisfactorily resolved. However, he also reported that Iran was not yet providing the active cooperation and full transparency needed for the full implementation of the Work Plan, and stated that the Agency's knowledge of Iran's current nuclear programme was in fact diminishing. The report again confirmed that Iran continues to ignore the unanimous demand of the UN Security Council to suspend its uranium enrichment activities.

I welcome the reported progress in relation to Iran's past activities, even if it is long overdue. I hope it will continue, and draw attention to the IAEA's statement that Iran needs to continue to build confidence about the scope and nature of its present programme. It is important to emphasise that progress under the Work Plan does not negate Iran's obligation to comply with the demands of the UN Security Council, which reflect the genuine and serious concerns of the international community, including Iran's neighbours.

The UN Security Council is now considering what further action it should take in view of Iran's non-compliance with its clear demands, most recently set out in Resolution 1747 of 24 March 2007. The EU is firmly committed to the search for a diplomatic solution, and is working in close cooperation with the United States, Russia and China. I hope that High Representative Solana will meet again shortly with Iran's chief negotiator on the nuclear issue. I expect that we will have further detailed discussions on the way forward at the meetings of the Council in December and in January, and that we will consider what additional measures the EU might take in order to support the UN process and the shared objectives of the international community.