Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions
Dail Éireann — 2026-01-20
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Micheál Martin (FF), Cork South-Central

No, no. In terms of the malign influence Iran has had in the Middle East, with Hezbollah, Hamas and - you name it - the Houthis in terms of trade routes and the economy, we never hear it really to any great extent or to any consistent extent. We are now hearing from Iran, potentially, that 4,000 citizens have been murdered, and up to 12,000 could have been murdered, because we do not know with the Internet blackout and so on like that. It is very difficult for citizens in Iran who want to adhere to the principles of freedom of association and freedom of speech. In Sudan, thousands and thousands have lost their lives in horrendous situations, with other external powers also being influential and negatively impactful on the lives of ordinary people in Sudan. We can go elsewhere in terms of violations of international law and so forth.
Our guiding light is and has to be adherence to the international rule of law and to the United Nations, as imperfect as it is. I agree with António Guterres that the Security Council is long outdated, with the post-Second World War scenario there in terms of the powers that are on the Security Council.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-01-20/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:31+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-01-20