I co-authored a Conservative Muslim Forum (CMF) submission to the Shadow Cabinet recently. The report can be downloaded here.
Yesterday, the submission received press coverage. Under the title “Muslim Tories: ‘Iran has right to nuclear arms’”, the Daily Telegraph reported our submission. This can be accessed here.
The report quoted us as saying:
The group calls on the party to be more sympathetic towards Iran. It says: “Given Iran’s position in the Middle East, facing a nuclear-armed Israel, Iran appears to have legitimate reasons for seeking nuclear weapons for defensive purposes.”
That is only half of what we said. The full paragraph of our statement on this issue actually reads:
Given Iran’s position in the Middle East, facing a nuclear armed Israel, Iran appears to have legitimate reasons for seeking nuclear weapons for defensive purposes. However, an incoming Conservative administration should continue to oppose Iran’s nuclear weapon ambitions, and our primary goal should be assisting in the strengthening of Iranian state institutions to avoid any risk of the transfer of nuclear technology to non state actors. (emphasis added)
Yes, the report did state that we oppose Iran’s nuclear weapon ambitions. But the title of the report gives the wrong impression.
Filed under: Britain, Politics, , Britain, cameron, conservative, david cameron, forum, islam, lord sheikh, muslim, policy, response
Iran’s nuclear ambition is largely for peaceful purposes, not military.It’s nuclear energy they are seeking, not nuclear weapons.