British FM denies UK shifting stance on Iran nuclear deal

LONDON — Britain emphasizes its commitment to the Iranian nuclear deal even as Prime Minister Boris Johnson says he would favor replacing it with an accord that Washington could support.

Answering an emergency question in the House of Commons, British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab denies Johnson’s remarks represented a policy shift, as critics jumped on the apparent discrepancy.

Raab tells MPs that the whole government — including the prime minister — still believed the 2015 agreement was the best solution, saying: “We want Iran to come back into full compliance.”

But he notes that Britain, the US and European powers had discussed at the G7 summit in Biarritz last year the possibility of a “broader deal” that had Washington’s support.

“It’s not just President Trump but also President Macron (of France) who have argued for a broader deal with Iran,” he says.

He says this would address some of the defects in the JCPOA, “which is not a perfect deal”, and wider concerns “about Iran’s broader destabilizing activities in the region.”

“The US and our European partners want us to be ambitious in our diplomatic approach with Iran and that is something I fully subscribe to,” Raab says.

Trump last week called on signatories to the JCPOA to withdraw from the agreement, and Johnson said he understood Washington’s concerns.

— AFP