Debate contribution: Illegal US and Israeli Attacks on Iran

Debate contribution by Ms Emma Sheerin on 16 March 2026.

MLA

Ms Emma Sheerin

Party at the time

Sinn Féin

Date

16 March 2026

Type

Debate contribution

Business

Private Members' Business

Heading

Illegal US and Israeli Attacks on Iran

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 5449459

Read the official Assembly record

Text

I thank the Member for his intervention. I agree with what he said, because, as we know, there have been multiple references today to the conflict in Ireland, most of which happened before I was born. I am grateful for that, and I am grateful to the Members on these Benches who fought so hard to get us the peace that I had the privilege to grow up in

I say clearly that it was the British who started the conflict in this country. It was the British who occupied this place and the British who brought oppression here

, and, as a result of that, as we see across the world, oppressed people

— oppressed people will rise up. That is a fact and has always been a fact. The Member can mock all he wants, but it brings the fullness of his false words when he talks about victims of violence when that is his response to lost lives. I will say clearly that no tears were shed for the innocent victims in Iran at this time. What is absolutely disgusting is the fact that Members, one after another, have attempted to use the suffering of women and minority groupings in Iran as justification for the Israeli and US aggression. You will not save women from oppression by bombing schoolgirls from the skies. That is a fact and has always been a fact, and we have seen that time and again, including this past week. We are on the record as saying this: there is absolutely no doubt that there has been abuse and persecution of women and other minority groupings in Iran. Do you know where else there is evidence of abuse of women? On every page of the Jeffrey Epstein files. Half the DUP Members are not here today because they are over across the world shaking shamrocks at a man who was found guilty in a court of law of sexual assault, the victim of which he then defamed — a man who has since glorified and joked about the abuse and sexual assault of women

I will not take lectures from you or anybody else about our record on rights, because it has been clear. I am proud to be a representative of Sinn Féin and of the people whom I stand with. I know what I stand for, and it has been consistent.

That is good. We would like to see a consistent voice coming from the Chamber, but, unfortunately, we have not seen the Members opposite be able to condemn the breaches of international law that we have seen in this past week. Instead, they have cheerled and congratulated the US and Israeli intervention, which has caused untold loss of life and will continue to do so, because, as has been clearly outlined, there is no plan for this aggression, as we have seen down through the years. There are people who feel that it is sad and embarrassing that we cannot have a consistent approach from the Chamber: I agree with that, but I am really frustrated by the way that it has been framed. We have parties in government here that are ideologically opposed on a number of issues, including our past in Ireland and different international events. However, in the wake of this incident, unionism congratulated the US and Israel, jumped up and down and could not wait to tell them what a great job they were doing and wished that the British Government would do more. Let me be clear: I am proud of the stance that Michelle O'Neill took, and we in Sinn Féin will not be complicit in British defence, because we know what British defence means. We have seen it in Ireland, and we know what it means. We have seen it across the world. Following that, never mind any sympathy for the loss of life across the world or the poor, innocent victims who had war brought upon them by international actors, we saw, within 24 hours, that it was going to have an impact on our constituents. Once again, the most vulnerable in society here — the people living on the breadline; working-class communities that we are all proud to represent — will struggle to pay their bills as a result of circumstances beyond their control. Instead of coming together and trying to work together as an Executive to demand that the British Government fund us in order to support the people whom we all represent, we see the DUP going on a complete red herring of a mission and borderline bullying several Sinn Féin Ministers about a bogus £81 million pot of money that is supposedly sitting there. No matter how clearly Dr Archibald explained it time and again to the Members opposite, they continued dragging her in front of Committees, asking question after question —

— and accusing her of hiding when she was across the world. She was on the media —.

Do not tell me to sit down.

Go raibh maith agat, a Leas-Cheann Comhairle.

This relates directly to the motion, because it asks for a clearly concerted approach from the Executive. What I am setting out here is that, in the wake of the crisis, instead of working with us to support the people whom we all represent, we have seen the bully boys in the DUP go after several of our Ministers. Instead of working with them, supporting them and helping them to deliver support, they are trying to backtrack from their own mistakes and play a blame game that does not make sense. I know that it is coming up to St Paddy's. I do not know whether they are so carried away with the US St Paddy's ritual that they think that there are leprechauns or pots of gold up in the sky or what the situation is, but I have never seen the like of it: Dr Archibald being accused of hiding when she was across the world. Last Thursday night, she was on the media online.

The motion calls for what we will do to represent our constituents in the wake of international aggression. What I am saying is that our Ministers have worked hard to deliver that support and have called on the British Government to give us the means to do so. Once again, factors that are beyond our control leave us in that position because we do not have the autonomy that we would like to have here to do that directly.

Yes, I will.

I thank the Member and appreciate the solidarity, which is consistent from her. I totally understand the point that she makes. However, I urge anybody to reflect on the coverage that there has been over recent days. DUP members were told time and again how that support would be extended to our constituents and had the scheme broken down and explained to them by Dr Archibald — a schoolchild could have understood it — and they just refused to listen to it, continued to bully and shout at her in a Committee meeting and refused to let her take advice from her officials. It is absolutely insane. It is not in any way appropriate. In tabling the motion, we are saying clearly once again that we oppose imperial aggression, colonialism and modern-day colonialism. We have been consistent on that. We oppose the using of vulnerable groups across the world as justification for modern-day imperialist advances, which is what this is. We stand against that completely. Once again, we call on everyone in the Chamber to call for international rule and for human rights to always be observed across the world. Go raibh míle maith agat.

1,290 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Assessment

Flagged Legacy of the Troubles, victims and paramilitarism

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Assessed 21 October 2026 at 15:15 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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