The backbenchers are sharpening their knives. An arcane document, a ‘secret codicil’ attached to the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, has leaked. It spells out, in black and white, what many in Westminster long suspected. The release of frozen assets. The timeline for weapons procurement. The discreet movement of naval assets through the Strait of Hormuz.
And now, Labour and Tory MPs are united in fury. They want a debate. They want a vote. They want to know why the Foreign Office signed off on this without proper parliamentary scrutiny.
“This is not a minor addendum,” one senior Conservative backbencher told me, phone pressed to his ear in a Commons corridor. “This is the heart of the deal. The weapons. The money. The ships. Why were we kept in the dark?”
He’s not alone. The usual suspects are mobilising. The European Research Group is drafting amendments. The Labour left smells blood. Even the Liberal Democrats, usually mute on foreign affairs, are demanding answers.
Let’s be clear. The original JCPOA was always a Rorschach test. To its defenders, a diplomatic masterpiece. To its critics, a surrender. This leak settles the argument. It reveals specific timelines for the lifting of arms embargoes. It details the release of billions in frozen funds. And it confirms a secret side-deal on naval access.
Downing Street is rattled. Officials insist the document is “out of context” and “misleading.” Classic pre-emptive spin. But the damage is done. The language is unambiguous. “The Islamic Republic of Iran shall be permitted to procure…” No wiggle room.
The key battleground now is parliamentary sovereignty. The arcane ‘Ponsonby Rule’ requires treaties to be laid before Parliament for 21 days. MPs argue this side-agreement constitutes a treaty. The government argues it’s a “technical arrangement.” Expect the Speaker to rule on this. Expect fireworks.
I spoke to a former Foreign Office mandarin off the record. “They thought they could bury this,” he said, “but Whitehall leaks like a sieve. This will go to a vote. And the government will lose.”
Why now? The timing is brutal. with Strained US-Iran talks and a fragile ceasefire in Gaza, the last thing No.10 needs is a backbench rebellion on Iran. But the rebels smell blood. They know the government’s majority is thin. They know the public is sceptical of foreign entanglements.
One Labour MP, a former shadow defence minister, told me: “We cannot have secret deals on weapons and ships. Parliament must approve any deal that loosens sanctions or alters military balances. This is constitutional.”
The ships are the detail that spooks the naval lobby. The leak confirms Iran will gain access to certain port facilities in the Gulf. Not base access, official sources stress. But the words “logistical support” are in the document. To the Navy, that’s a red line.
What happens next? A private members’ bill? A debate under the archaic ‘Standing Order No. 14’? Possibly a formal “humble address” to the Crown. All options are being considered. The whips are working overtime.
I’ll leave you with this. A senior No.10 source, sounding weary, said: “We are where we are. The deal is done. We can’t unpick it now.” But the MPs are not listening. They want a vote. They want transparency. And they will get it.
The Iran deal’s open secrets are no longer secret. The game is on.
