BORIS Johnson attacked Donald Trump’s new Iran deal tonight – dismissing it as unworkable.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo unveiled Washington’s steep list of 12 demands that it wants included in a new wide-ranging nuclear treaty with Iran to replace the current international agreement.
He threatened to impose the “strongest sanctions in history” if Tehran refuses to sign up to Mr Trump’s plan, which would include it working very closely with the US and its enemies in the Middle East.
But Mr Johnson poured scepticism on Washington’s hardline approach, saying it would be “very, very difficult” to achieve in “anything like a reasonable timetable”.
The Foreign Secretary’s rebuke ramps up what is already the worst transatlantic row with the White House since Mr Trump’s election.
Speaking during a trip to Buenos Aires, Mr Johnson told reporters: “If you try now to fold all those issues – the ballistic missiles, Iran’s misbehaviour, Iran’s disruptive activity in the region and the nuclear question – if you try to fold all those in to a giant negotiation, a new jumbo Iran negotiation, a new treaty.
“I don’t see that being very easy to achieve, in anything like a reasonable timetable.”
Britain has joined European states including Germany and France in reaffirming their commitment to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
President Trump pulled out of the JCPOA earlier this month, branding it a “horrible, one-sided” deal.
His new demands include not only an end to uranium enrichment and "unqualified access" for nuclear inspectors to military sites, but a halt to support for Houthi rebels in Yemen, the withdrawal of all forces from Syria, removal of backing for ally Hezbollah and a cease to threats to Israel.
Iran must also "release all US citizens" missing in Iran or being held on "spurious charges", said Mr Pompeo, in his first major speech as Secretary of State.
Washington appeared to be planning to fold all of its issues of contention with Tehran into "a giant negotiation, a new jumbo Iran negotiation, a new treaty", Mr Johnson said in response
And he warned: "I don't see that being very easy to achieve, in anything like a reasonable timetable.
"The advantage of the JCPOA was that it had a very clear objective. It protected the world from an Iranian nuclear bomb, and in return it gave the Iranians some recognisable economic benefits. That was at the core of it.
"The Americans have walked away from that."
Mr Johnson said the US approach would be discussed at the meeting of foreign ministers of G20 countries which he was attending in Buenos Aires.
"I think we will be discussing, not in the session but we'll certainly be discussing it with friends and colleagues today, how to take it forward," he told reporters.
"But the prospect of a new jumbo Iran treaty is going to be very, very difficult."
He insisted he was "not totally pessimistic about the situation", saying: "In the end, there is a deal to be done that gives Iran a greater economic access to the West, but also constrains it.
"That's what we want to work on with the Americans. They have some ideas; we have some ideas. I think in the end, we will get back to the kind of additions to the JCPOA that we initially envisaged – but it may take a long time."
Mr Johnson said the UK was taking measures to attempt to protect British companies with business interests in Iran from being caught by any new US sanctions.
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"We're going to do everything we possibly can," he said.
"One of the difficulties is that American legislation means that if a UK business in any way touches the electric fence, or touches the wire of the American banking system, they get zapped.
"So it's a question of finding a way of avoiding that."
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