Johnson to Trump - Iran deal has weaknesses but don't dump it

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Johnson to Trump - Iran deal has weaknesses but don't dump it

 

FILE PHOTO - Britain's Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson arrives to vote in local government elections in London, May 3, 2018. REUTERS/Hannah McKay

 

LONDON (Reuters) - British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson has appealed to U.S. President Donald Trump not to end the Iran nuclear agreement, saying the deal had weaknesses but these could be addressed given time.

 

Trump has said that unless European allies rectify "flaws" in Tehran's deal with world powers by May 12 he will refuse to extend U.S. sanctions relief for Iran.

 

Britain, France and Germany remain committed to the accord as is, but to address U.S. concerns they want to open talks on Iran's ballistic missile programme, its nuclear activities beyond 2025 - when key provisions of the deal start to expire - and its role in Middle East crises such as Syria and Yemen.

 

"It has weaknesses, certainly, but I am convinced they can be remedied," Johnson wrote in an opinion piece for the New York Times. "Indeed at this moment Britain is working alongside the Trump administration and our French and German allies to ensure that they are."

 

Johnson began a two-day visit to the United States on Sunday to try to convince Trump's administration not to ditch the deal and was due to meet Vice President Mike Pence and national security adviser John Bolton, although not the president himself.

 

The foreign secretary said he saw no advantage in losing the "handcuffs" the deal imposed on Iran's nuclear ambitions and only Tehran would benefit from exiting the deal.

 

France's President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel have also lobbied Trump not to withdraw from the deal the U.S. president has described as insane, with Macron warning it could lead to war.

 

"At this delicate juncture, it would be a mistake to walk away from the nuclear agreement and remove the restraints that it places on Iran," Johnson wrote.

 

"I believe that keeping the deal's constraints on Iran's nuclear programme will also help counter Tehran's aggressive regional behaviour. I am sure of one thing: every available alternative is worse. The wisest course would be to improve the handcuffs rather than break them."

 

Iran has said it will not renegotiate the nuclear agreement.

 

(Reporting by Michael Holden, Editing by William Maclean)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2018-05-07

[thaibeachlovers]

Boris has, IMO, been a failure in his present position, and POTUS should not give him time of day.

Pity, as I thought he was a good mayor of London.

[sukhumvitneon]

4 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Boris has, IMO, been a failure in his present position, and POTUS should not give him time of day.

Pity, as I thought he was a good mayor of London.

Boris turned out to be another cardboard cut out globalist but he's right on this one.  America needs to stay in the deal that her Greatest Ally keeps pressuring her to drop.

[thaibeachlovers]

26 minutes ago, sukhumvitneon said:

Boris turned out to be another cardboard cut out globalist but he's right on this one.  America needs to stay in the deal that her Greatest Ally keeps pressuring her to drop.

Disagree a million %.

The US should never have agreed to the farce in the first place, but getting out is the next best option.

[riclag]

Perhaps this deal needs some tweaks. Surely Iran is open to tweaking their sunset clause and  open to a more elaborate inspection process .Forget about the monies they received(water under the bridge).How about releasing the foreign  prisoners ! 

[rudi49jr]

I'm 100% sure that Trump will decide to dump the deal.

I'm also 100% sure that it is the wrong decision.

[Chomper Higgot]

1 hour ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Disagree a million %.

The US should never have agreed to the farce in the first place, but getting out is the next best option.

The US agreed to the deal because it was a very real step in the process of bringing Iran back into (as a law abiding member) the international comunity.

 

There is zero credible evidence of Iran break it’s obligations under the treaty, hence the wide international support for maintaining the treaty.

[Thaidream]

It would be an unwise and dangerous decision and cause an immediate negative Iranian reaction.  The agreement was signed by the then sitting American President as well as America's closest allies in Europe. While the agreement could be improved- dumping it shows to other enemies or potential enemies that the word of the US cannot be trusted and the American system is broken .

 

If  Trump nullifies the agreement- Iran will restart its nuclear program and Trump will place sanctions on Iran.  Let's not forget- Iran suffered through a bitter almost decade war with Iraq and refused to capitulate even after tens of thousands of deaths.  Trump is placing the US on a road to  war-  and noa amount of sanctions will break Iran.

[riclag]

Israel is ranked number one in the world for their Intelligence  Agency named "Mossad" .For those of you who want to continue this deal out of radical hatred for PT . is beyond suspicious. Like I said in a previous post  #1. It should be tweaked, not canceled ,surely this is a diplomatic approach to benefit all countries involved. Since Israel has more to loose in this,I think the European countries that deal with Iran through trade agreements must appease a revised agreement. If Iran doesn't agree, than shut it down.

Israeli PM Netanyahu Reveals Documents Proving Iranian Nuclear Program; Deal Is Based On "Deception"

https://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2018/04/30/israeli_pm_netanyahu_reveals_proof_of_secret_iranian_nuclear_program.html

 

 

Edited May 8, 2018 by riclag

[dunroaming]

1 hour ago, riclag said:

Perhaps this deal needs some tweaks. Surely Iran is open to tweaking their sunset clause and  open to a more elaborate inspection process .Forget about the monies they received(water under the bridge).How about releasing the foreign  prisoners ! 

Being inside the agreement the USA would have some leverage to change the weaker points with some "tweaking".  By dumping it, you have no way of doing that.  Still you cannot expect a buffoon like Trump to see that.  Unfortunately Johnson has no gravitas and nobody listens to him.

[Thaidream]

Let me set the record straight- I do not hate President Trump- I do hate what he stands for and that is a person who distorts History; is a serial liar; and has no empathy for those who are less fortunate.  I might even get past all that if he was doing anything to better mankind and the World.   Instead he creates crisis after crisis and espouses a chaotic foreign policy and has a poor record in who he hires as aides and cabinet members.

 

Listening to the Israeli PM is ridiculous because  he was against any deal with Iran from the beginning and moving the Us Embassy to Jerusalem is simply adding another dimension which moves the Palestinian peace process backward. I do not trust Benjamin Netanyahu to do anything that is in the best interests of the US .

 

We can agree on the fact the Iranian deal needs tweaking- but it should not be cancelled- especially since all of America's partners want to maintain it.  If Trump does cancel it he is opening up the US to Worldwide recrimination (except for IsraeL0 and pushing the US towards  a potential war.

[thaibeachlovers]

4 hours ago, Chomper Higgot said:

The US agreed to the deal because it was a very real step in the process of bringing Iran back into (as a law abiding member) the international comunity.

 

There is zero credible evidence of Iran break it’s obligations under the treaty, hence the wide international support for maintaining the treaty.

The obligations under the deal were meaningless when it came to verification, as apparently inspectors are not allowed on military bases, or do surprise inspections.

 

I remember it well when it was being formulated, and it appeared more about a certain person's legacy than a serious attempt to stop Iran developing nukes.

[Thaidream]

I seriously doubt that it was about any peerson's legacy since the other partnes involved signed on.  It was about buying time and at the right moment attempting to renegotiate or hoping that by 2025 the Islamic Republic of Iran would not exist in its current form and there would be a real chance to stop the Middle East from going nuclear.

 

If Trump scuttles this agreement- he is doing it simply out of spite because Obama signed it and he is also listening to his ultra rightist base and John Bolton who sees the World as constantly in conflict.  Every responsible country in the World is asking Trump to honor an agreement signed by all parties rather than completely withdraw. America can not go it alone in the World....

[Chomper Higgot]

13 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

The obligations under the deal were meaningless when it came to verification, as apparently inspectors are not allowed on military bases, or do surprise inspections.

 

I remember it well when it was being formulated, and it appeared more about a certain person's legacy than a serious attempt to stop Iran developing nukes.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-iran-nuclear-iaea-explainer/us-risks-reversing-iran-nuclear-deals-inspection-gains-idUSKBN1I425L