British Foreign Secretary: no plans for Iran
{{date|May 9, 2006}}

Newly appointed British [[w: Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs|Foreign Secretary]], [[w:Margaret Beckett|Margaret Beckett]], today confirmed that there are no plans for military action in Iran. Beckett has been speaking at a meeting in New York to discuss international policy concerning Iran with her counterparts from France, Germany, Russia, China and the US.

Speaking on BBC Radio she said, "it's not anybody's intention to take the course of military action". Beckett refused, however, to rule out action as 'inconceivable' in the way that her predecessor [[w:Jack Straw (politician)|Jack Straw]] had.

<blockquote>"What people are concerned to do is to get Iran to recognise the strong view and the clear will of the international community that they should comply with the IEAE <nowiki>[International Atomic Energy Agency]</nowiki> board. You're inviting me to tread down the path of talking about military action - I'm not going to do that. Everybody expresses their views, their stance, in their own way. The way that I choose to express it is that it's not anybody's intention to take the course of military action. That I think is simple and straightforward and clear."</blockquote>

Tony Blair, speaking in a monthly press conference, said that the change of Foreign Secretary would not change policy "one iota".

==Sources==
*{{source|url=http://www.iranmania.com/News/ArticleView/Default.asp?NewsCode=42687&NewsKind=Current%20Affairs
|title=Eyes on Beckett for any change in UK Iran-policy
|author=
|pub=IranMania
|date=May 9, 2006}}

*{{source|url= http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4752963.stm
|title=No plan to attack Iran - Beckett
|author=
|pub=BBC News Online
|date=May 9, 2006}}

*{{source|url=http://politics.guardian.co.uk/foreignaffairs/story/0,,1770963,00.html
|title=Beckett cautious on Iran options
|author=Matthew Tempest
|pub=The Guardian
|date=May 9, 2006}}

*{{source|url=http://today.reuters.co.uk/News/newsArticle.aspx?type=worldNews&storyid=2006-05-09T091336Z_01_L09250293_RTRUKOT_0_TEXT0.xml
|title=Beckett says no plan for Iran military strike
|author=
|pub=Reuters
|date=May 9, 2006}}

*{{source|url=http://news.independent.co.uk/world/politics/article362991.ece
|title=Beckett: No military action against Iran
|author=Press Association
|pub=The Independent
|date=May 9, 2006}}

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{{Archive-unreviewed}}
[[Category:Politics and conflicts]]
[[Category:United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Iran]]
[[Category:Tony Blair]]
[[Category:Margaret Beckett]]
[[Category:IAEA]]
[[Category:Europe]]
[[Category:Middle East]]
Newly appointed British Foreign Secretary, Margaret Beckett, today confirmed that there are no plans for military action in Iran. Beckett has been speaking at a meeting in New York to discuss international policy concerning Iran with her counterparts from France, Germany, Russia, China and the US.

Speaking on BBC Radio she said, "it's not anybody's intention to take the course of military action". Beckett refused, however, to rule out action as 'inconceivable' in the way that her predecessor Jack Straw had.

"What people are concerned to do is to get Iran to recognise the strong view and the clear will of the international community that they should comply with the IEAE  board. You're inviting me to tread down the path of talking about military action - I'm not going to do that. Everybody expresses their views, their stance, in their own way. The way that I choose to express it is that it's not anybody's intention to take the course of military action. That I think is simple and straightforward and clear."

Tony Blair, speaking in a monthly press conference, said that the change of Foreign Secretary would not change policy "one iota".

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Politics and conflicts United Kingdom Iran Tony Blair Margaret Beckett IAEA Europe Middle East