Johnson says 'no doubt' Iran nuclear deal will be preserved

UK Foreign Minister Boris Johnson says there is “absolutely no doubt” that the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and the six world powers will survive despite US President Donald Trump’s refusal to certify Tehran’s compliance.

“It is the job of our generation to preserve that agreement, and British diplomacy will be at the forefront of the endeavor,” Johnson said during a speech at Chatham House’s conference in central London on Monday.

Earlier this month, Trump “decertified” the nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), claiming that it was one of the “worst deals ever negotiated.”

“On the contrary, we should continue to work to demonstrate to that population that they will be better off under this deal and the path of re-engagement that it prescribes.”

Elsewhere, Johnson addressed the ongoing tensions between the US and North Korea over Pyongyang’s ballistic missile and nuclear weapons programs and said it was Trump’s “absolute duty” to keep the US and its allies “safe.”

The row has peaked over the past weeks, with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un threatening to attack the US Pacific territory of Guam, after Trump threatened him with “fire and fury the world has never seen.”

“I am afraid that the US president – whoever he or she might be – will have an absolute duty to prepare any option to keep safe not only the American people but all those who have sheltered under the American nuclear umbrella,” Johnson said.

SS