Iran crisis: Boris Johnson says nuclear pact should be replaced with ‘Trump deal’

The Iran nuclear agreement should be scrapped and replaced with a superior “Trump deal”, Boris Johnson has said – as he shrugged off being shut out of the decision to assassinate Qassem Soleimani.

Appearing to sign the death knell for Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) – backed by the EU – the prime minister instead heaped praise on the US president’s negotiating skills.

“From the American perspective, it’s a flawed agreement, it expires, plus it was negotiated by President Obama – from their point of view it has many, many faults,” Mr Johnson said.

“Well, if we’re going to get rid of it, let’s replace it and let’s replace it with the Trump deal. That’s what we need to see. I think that would be a great way forward – President Trump is a great deal maker.”

He added: “Let’s work together to replace the JCPOA and get the Trump deal instead, that’s the opportunity.”

The comments come just days after Mr Johnson signed a joint statement with Angela Merkel and Emmanuel Macron in which they pledged to work together to rescue the 2015 deal.

Designed to prevent Iran acquiring nuclear weapons, it has been on the brink of collapse since Donald Trump pulled the US out in 2018, long before the latest crisis in the Gulf.

Speaking to the BBC, Mr Johnson dismissed any fears over Washington’s failure to even inform him that it was poised to kill General Soleimani – despite the potential risk to UK troops in Iraq.

“This was not our operation. There was no reason for us to be told,” he said.

And he defended choosing not to return from his luxury holiday on a Caribbean holiday when the crisis struck, saying: “I was not in this country but I worked very hard, as you can imagine, in making sure there was a European response.”

The prime minister confirmed he would meet the husband of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, the Briton jailed in Iran, “very soon” – but declined to agree the crisis had worsened her plight.

“It is hard to say whether the death of Qassem Soleimani has made that particular case more or less difficult,” he argued, adding: “Let’s see how we go.”

Mr Johnson said Britain had played its “traditional role” in serving as the bridge between the “European powers and the United States”.

And he said, of the shooting down of the Ukrainian airliner: “I’m glad the Iranians have accepted responsibility and identified it as an appalling mistake and it does appear that it was a mistake.

“It is very important that the bodies are repatriated in a dignified way and that the families are allowed to grieve and to have closure.

“The most important thing now is that tensions in the region calm down,” he said – adding that he “did not envisage” any further escalation in the tensions between the US and Iran.