1) MI6 chief: We need intelligence operations to stop Iran developing nuclear weapons (28 October 2010)

2) UK Foreign Minister: We will continue to lead the way in imposing tighter sanctions on Iran (6 October 2010)

“The risks of failure in this area are grim. Stopping nuclear proliferation cannot be addressed purely by conventional diplomacy. We need intelligence-led operations to make it more difficult for countries like Iran to develop nuclear weapons.”

[MI6 Chief Sir John Sawers’ “Britain’s Secret Frontline” speech to the Society of Editors, Canary Wharf, London, 28 October 2010. This is the first ever public speech by a serving Chief of the Secret Intelligence Service (SIS).] [1]

“[A]s long as the Iranian nuclear programme is pursued in defiance of the world and without a clear peaceful purpose, this country will continue to lead the way, as we did this summer, in imposing tighter sanctions on Iran both at the United Nations and in the European Union. Those sanctions are beginning to bite”

[UK Foreign Minister William Hague’s speech at the annual Conservative Party Conference, Birmingham, 6 October 2010] [2]

Notes

[1] Britain’s Secret Frontline

Foreign and Commonwealth Office website, 28 October 2010
http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/news/latest-news/?view=Speech&id=23107618

[2] William Hague: Sovereignty clause will enshrine key principle
Conservative Party website, 6 October 2010
http://www.conservatives.com/News/Speeches/2010/10/William_Hague_Sover eignty_clause_will_enshrine_key_principle.aspx