MEPs also called for the release of seven members of the Iranian opposition¡ including six women¡ who were taken in a September raid on the Camp Ashraf refugee camp northeast of Baghdad.

The resolution¡ which said the seven were now believed to be held in the Iraqi capital¡ “calls for their immediate and unconditional release” and condemned the attack on the camp which left 52 people dead¡ according to the United Nations.

EU foreign affairs head Catherine Ashton warned last month of the risk that the seven could be returned to Iran.