Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions
Dail Éireann — 2026-03-03
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Micheál Martin (FF), Cork South-Central

We are very clear on upholding the international rule of law. This bombing campaign is not in accordance with a UN mandate. I totally accept the Deputy's bona fides. She has been consistent on Iran, but the international rules-based order has been powerless to do anything about Iran, if we are honest, over a long period. That does raise questions. It is not a new question; it is a decades-old question in terms of intervention. There have been interventions by previous American presidents with consequences that were long-lasting in a negative sense. We know all of that but, equally, regimes have been allowed and sanctions have not been enough to shift those regimes into facilitating democracy within their jurisdictions or at least allowing their civilians freedom of movement and speech and the opportunities to change by democratic channels.
The Deputy described the brutal crackdown of the Mahsa Amini protest, which was about the liberation of women within in Iran. It was brutal and the world was powerless and did nothing. We do not have full estimates relating to what happened only six weeks ago but some say it could be as high as 10,000 or 15,000 ordinary Iranians executed for just protesting. There are moral dilemmas everywhere. I take the Deputy's basic point that we do not believe in intervention without a UN mandate. No one is even disputing that but, equally, there is a huge issue with this regime. The challenges, as the Deputy said, relate to instability across the region. That is why we are calling for a de-escalation and getting back around the negotiating table. These negotiations on the nuclear file have been going on since 2005 or 2007. That is how long they have been going on. They have been dragged out, as has the ballistics programme.
I met Bernard Phelan as well. At will the Iranian regime just kidnapped European citizens, put them in prison and then ransomed or blackmailed western governments to try to get them released. That was the modus operandi . Bernard Phelan and people he met in prison had a fairly brutal imprisonment. Some of them have yet to get out of those prisons in Iran.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-03-03/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-09-14T01:01:02+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-03-03