Iran must be monitored, MPs warn

Iran needs to monitored with "continued vigilance" to ensure it honours a commitment not to develop nuclear weapons, MPs have warned.

The Commons Foreign Affairs Committee said there is "no certainty" an agreement struck by Foreign Secretary Jack Straw and his French and German counterparts with the Tehran regime would achieve its objectives.

Following reports that Iran was continuing to develop sophisticated centrifuges needed to produce weapons-grade uranium, the committee said Tehran appeared to be "guilty either of careless inefficiency or deliberate deceit".

The European Union "troika" of Mr Straw, French foreign minister Dominic de Villepin and Germany's Joschka Fischer, won an assurance from Iran that it would voluntarily suspend all uranium enrichment and reprocessing activities, after visiting Tehran in October.

The Iranians also agreed to sign up to a new protocol allowing the International Atomic Energy Authority - the United Nations nuclear watchdog - increased access to inspect its nuclear facilities.

However, the committee warned that the limits of the agreement are likely to be "thoroughly tested" by the Iranians.

"Welcome though the agreement with Iran on its nuclear activities is, there can as yet be no certainty that it will achieve its objectives," it said.

"Scrupulous enforcement by the IAEA will be necessary, backed up by continued resolve on the part of the EU troika and other parties."

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