UK Foreign Secy urges Trump not to ‘dump’ Iran nuclear deal

London [UK]: United Kingdom Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson on Monday urged United States President Donald Trump to stay in the Iran nuclear deal, in what was a last-ditch attempt to save the US-led nuclear agreement.

In a televised interview – “Fox & Friends”, which is President Donald Trump’s favourite TV show, Johnson warned Washington D.C.’s possibility of pursuing a military action against Iran if it pulled out of the Iran deal, CNN reported.

“Are we seriously saying that we will bomb those facilities … is that really a realistic possibility?” Johnson asked.

“If they do get a nuclear weapon, you’re going to get an arms race in the Middle East. You’re going to have the Saudis wanting one, the Egyptians wanting one, the Emiratis. It’s already a very, very dangerous state at the moment, we don’t want to go down that road. There doesn’t seem to me at the moment to be a viable military solution,” he added, warning of “dire consequences”.

Earlier on Monday, Johnson arrived in Washington D.C. and met with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo over the fate of the Iran deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. He also met with National Security Adviser John Bolton.

On Sunday, Johnson wrote a New York Times op-ed, arguing in favour of the Iran nuclear deal in the interests of Europe.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday said that the Iran nuclear deal is ‘based on a lie’, thereby continuing to support the United States to withdraw from the deal.

President Trump said on Monday that he would announce a decision on the Iran nuclear deal at the White House on Tuesday afternoon.

The Iran nuclear deal was signed between six countries in 2015 – Iran, US, Britain, Germany, Russia, France and China for lifting economic sanctions on Tehran in exchange for limitations to the country’s nuclear programme. (ANI)