BICOM

UK Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson arrived in Washington yesterday for two days of discussions with his American counterparts about Iran and the 2015 nuclear deal.

Johnson will meet senior Republicans and Democrats to discuss the importance of the nuclear agreement, amid political controversy over his grasp of the details of a case involving a British national imprisoned in Iran.

“The Iran nuclear deal makes the world safer,” Johnson said in comments released by the Foreign Office on Wednesday. “That’s why it is vital that the international community sticks to the deal. It is working and has, so far, resulted in Iran giving up 95 per cent of its uranium stockpile”.

“Supporting the nuclear deal does not mean we should not call out and take action against disruptive Iranian behaviour elsewhere, including its ballistic missile programme and the unjustified detention of British dual-nationals. However, it is vital that we do not conflate the issues on which we should rightly condemn Iran and a deal which is neutralising the threat of a nuclear-armed Iran,” he added.

It is Johnson’s first visit to Washington since US President Donald Trump’s announcement in October that he won’t certify Iran’s compliance with the nuclear deal. The President’s decision to not certify triggers a 60-day window for Congress to introduce legislation to re-impose some, or all, of the sanctions waived or suspended under the nuclear agreement. He also warned that if US Congress could not fix the accord with better terms and enforcement, he would “terminate” the agreement.

Before yesterday’s meetings with House Speaker Paul Ryan and House and Senate Majority Leaders Kevin McCarthy and Mitch McConnell, Mr Johnson said supporting the agreement does not mean ignoring “disruptive” Iranian behaviour such as the “unjustified detention of British nationals,” in reference to British woman Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe being held in Iran.

Writing in the Washington Post, High representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission Frederica Mogherini emphasised that renegotiation of the Iran deal is not an option.

Mogherini said: “We share the concerns on the situation in the region and the Iranian ballistic missile programme. But without the nuclear deal, our negotiating position would be much weaker — not stronger.”