Foreign Office letter re: 'Britain Pushes For Military Option To Restrain Tehran'

Sir, Contrary to your report (Mar 22), Britain is not pushing for military action against Iran. Chapter VII is not synonymous with the use of force. So far this year there have been ten Security Council resolutions, five of which were under Chapter VII. None authorised or advocated the use of force.

The Foreign Secretary set out our approach on Iran to the House on 7 February: 'if we end up with a report to the Security Council ... the first stage will be a Security Council resolution exerting its authority in support of International Atomic Energy Agency [IAEA] processes. ... if those steps fail, extensive discussions will have to take place with our partners on whether Article 41 measures would be appropriate.' Article 41 is the part of Chapter VII which authorises mandatory measures not involving the use of force.

Our strategy is to use the authority of the Security Council to increase the pressure on Iran to meet the IAEA's requirements. If Iran refuses to take the necessary steps, then the Security Council will have to consider Chapter VII resolutions. That does not change our approach to the use of force, which the Foreign Secretary has made clear is not on the agenda.

Kim Howells
Minister of State
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
London SW1