Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 103: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs the extent to which he and his EU colleagues are engaging with the Iranian authorities with a view to establishing better and more peaceful relations between Iran, the US and the wider community; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17066/08]

Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)
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The Government shares the genuine and broadly held desire across the European Union for improved relations with Iran. The EU and Iran share an interest in a stable, prosperous and peaceful Middle East. I believe there are no unbridgeable divides between our interests and those of the Iranian people.

However, it has been clear for some years that there are a number of broad areas in which the policies being pursued by the Iranian authorities represent obstacles to the building of closer relations with the EU and the wider international community. These include the serious international concern about the nature of Iran's nuclear programme, the negative role being played in relation to efforts to resolve peacefully the interlinked political problems of the Middle East region, and growing concerns about the level of human rights abuses in Iran.

I regret that Iran has seemed unable to engage in serious dialogue on any of these issues in recent years. The EU has taken the lead in the search for a diplomatic solution to the nuclear issue, in cooperation with the US, Russia and China. The Taoiseach and I reviewed these efforts with President Bush during our meeting in the White House yesterday. The important comprehensive offer conveyed to Iran by the EU in 2006 included incentives for wide-ranging engagement between Iran and the international community in the context of agreement to address the concerns set out clearly by the UN Security Council on the nuclear issue. This major diplomatic offer remains on the table, and will be pursued further by the EU. I would reiterate our appeal to Iran to engage with it constructively, to the benefit of the people of Iran and its region and of Europe.

The Government maintains regular contact with the Iranian authorities through meetings at Ministerial and official level and through our Embassy in Tehran. We have made it clear that we are at all times ready to develop further our political dialogue with Iran on the basis of a genuine readiness to address all issues of concern to both sides.