Debate contribution: Middle East: Escalating Conflict Involving Iran and the Implications for the United Kingdom
Debate contribution by Mr Declan Kearney on .
- MLA
- Mr Declan Kearney
- Party at the time
- Sinn Féin
- Date
- 2 March 2026
- Type
- Debate contribution
- Business
- Matter of the Day
- Heading
- Middle East: Escalating Conflict Involving Iran and the Implications for the United Kingdom
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 5432409
Read the official Assembly record
Text
The US/Israeli actions at the weekend, in starting this war against Iran and across the Middle East, are a flagrant violation of the United Nations charter and international law. Yet again, the multilateral system has been fundamentally damaged. This is the second time in nine months that the United States has mounted a war in the midst of a live negotiation, and, as a result, the Middle East has been taken to the abyss. This war is not a legitimate response to the human rights violations, the lack of democracy and the breaches of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in Iran, but the war is set to spiral, with mass killings and mass destruction. It is a mindless act, and the British Government's decision to join the war is equally reckless. The spectres of Libya, Iraq and Afghanistan loom large.
Let me be clear: we must not be complicit in Britain's latest Middle Eastern war. We must be a voice for reason, peace and diplomacy. The killings and attacks must stop on all sides. All hostilities must end. There must be de-escalation. The United Nations charter must be paramount. Dialogue, engagement and peaceful coexistence are the only way forward.
200 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
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