Iran dismisses Boris Johnson's suggestion for new 'Trump nuclear deal'
Iran’s president has dismissed Boris Johnson’s suggestion that the 2015 nuclear deal could be replaced with a new agreement negotiated by Donald Trump and threatened British and European troops in the Middle East.
In a series of biting remarks aimed at Britain, Hassan Rouhani shot down the prospect of Iran returning to the negotiating table to discuss what Mr Johnson called “a Trump deal” to replace the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
"I don't know what the prime minister in London was thinking when he was saying to put aside the JCPOA and implement the 'Trump deal’," Mr Rouhani said. "Trump has done nothing but violate international covenants and laws.”
He also threatened European troops in the Middle East after Britain, Germany, and France formally accused his government of violating the nuclear deal. "Today, the American soldier is in danger, tomorrow the European soldier could be in danger,” Mr Rouhani said.
Britain has around 400 troops in Iraq and around 1,000 in Afghanistan as well as others deployed across the region. UK commanders are still braced for possible attacks by Iranian proxy forces in response to the killing of Qassim Soleimani.
Meanwhile, Rob Macaire, the UK ambassador in Tehran, has left the country for the first time since his arrest last weekend by Iranian security forces. UK officials said it was a pre-planned trip to London and that he would return to his post in Tehran.
Iran has been rocked by days of protests after the Revolutionary Guard admitted following several days of false denials that it accidentally shot down a Ukrainian airliner and killed all 176 aboard.
In a sign of growing tensions between the democratically-elected Rouhani government and more hardline Revolutionary Guard, Javad Zarif, Iran’s foreign minister, said the people “were lied to” over what happened in the air disaster.
Mr Zarif and Mr Rouhani said they were kept in the dark about the real cause of the crash for several days as the Revolutionary Guard falsely denied shooting down the plane. They have tried to steer public anger towards the Guard and away from the government.
"In the last few nights, we've had people in the streets of Tehran demonstrating against the fact that they were lied to for a couple of days," Mr Zarif said.
Donald Trump pulled the US out of the nuclear in 2018 and reimposed crushing sanctions on Iran. Over the last year, Iran has been gradually violating terms of the nuclear deal in protest at the US action.
Tehran took its most drastic step on January 5, days after Soleimani’s death, announcing that it would no longer adhere to limits on uranium enrichment, a rule designed to stop it from obtaining a nuclear weapon.
Britain, France, and Germany - known as the E3 - have long supported the nuclear deal but announced on Tuesday they formally accused Iran of breaking its commitments and triggered a dispute mechanism under the agreement.
Mr Trump has oscillated between saying he wants Iran to return to the negotiating table to thrash out a stricter deal and saying he doesn’t care about negotiations as long as Iran doesn’t try to obtain a nuclear weapon.
Mr Johnson attempted to Mr Trump on Tuesday by suggesting that the president negotiate “a Trump deal” to replace the one negotiated by the Obama administration.
The suggestion apparently appealed to Mr Trump who tweeted his approval. “Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, @BorisJohnson, stated, “We should replace the Iran deal with the Trump deal.” I agree!”
Iran has accused European states of giving in to pressure from Mr Trump and failing to comply with their own commitment under the nuclear deal to trade with Iran.
“It's sad that the biggest economy [EU] has allowed itself to be bullied into violating own obligations. JCPOA's future depends on E3, not Iran,” said Mr Zarif.
He added: “We did not sign an ‘Obama deal’ to go for a ‘Trump deal’ now. Even if we did, who's to say we won't need Biden, Sanders or Warren deal next year?”
