Boris Johnson: Britain will not walk away from Iran nuclear deal
3 min read
The Foreign Secretary has declared that Britain “has no intention of walking away" from the Iran nuclear deal after Donald Trump dramatically pulled US support for the agreement.
Speaking in the Commons today, Boris Johnson told MPs that the impact of the deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, could not be underestimated and urged Iran to respond to the move “with restraint”.
He also called on the US to “avoid taking any action that would hinder other parties from continuing to make the agreement work”.
Mr Trump yesterday announced that the US was pulling out of the agreement, in the face of strong opposition from European nations.
Despite a frantic diplomatic push by the UK, Paris and Berlin to convince him not to ditch the Obama-era deal, Mr Trump last night dubbed it "decaying and rotten" and said he would restart tough economic sanctions on Tehran that have been halted since 2015.
Iranian President Hassan Rohauni swiftly condemned the decision, and said he had "ordered the Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran to be ready to start the enrichment of uranium at industrial levels".
But in a joint statement, Mrs May, French President Emanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel vowed to continue to abide by the terms of the deal, which has seen Iran slash its stockpile of uranium in return for the lifting of Western economic curbs.
Mr Johnson said today: “I remind the House that the JCPOA is an international agreement, painstakingly negotiated over 13 years – under both Republican and Democratic Administrations – and enshrined in UN Resolution 2231.
“Britain has no intention of walking away; instead we will cooperate with the other parties to ensure that while Iran continues to restrict its nuclear programme, then its people will benefit from sanctions relief in accordance with the central bargain of the deal.”
He added: “I urge Iran to respond to the US decision with restraint and continue to observe its commitments under the JCPOA.”
The Foreign Secretary also called on the US to work with the international community to reach a new agreement.
He said: “Now that the Trump Administration has left the JCPOA, the responsibility falls on them to describe how they in Washington will build a new negotiated solution to our shared concerns, a settlement that must necessarily include Iran, China and Russia as well as countries in the region.
“Britain stands ready to support that task, but in the meantime, we will strive to preserve the gains made by the JCPOA.”
‘RECKLESS’
Shadow Foreign Secretary Emily Thornberry blasted the US President’s action branding it an “act of diplomatic sabotage”.
She added that Mr Trump had acted with “recklessness and idiocy,” and risked “triggering a rapid nuclear arms race in the Middle East”.
Theresa May earlier backed Mr Johnson over his controversial, last-minute appeal to the US President on Fox News.
Appearing on Fox & Friends on Monday, he urged Mr Trump not to "throw the baby out with the bathwater" by abandoning the deal, and later suggested Mr Trump could be in line for the Nobel Peace Prize for trying to fix problems with the pact.
But the Prime Minister praised efforts to try and save the agreement, saying it was "absolutely right" that the UK made representations "at all levels and in a variety of ways".
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