Press release: Foreign Secretary visiting Washington to reaffirm UK commitment to the Iran nuclear deal

During his first visit to Washington since President Trump’s decision not to certify the Iran nuclear deal under US domestic legislation, the Foreign Secretary will meet foreign policy leaders from both parties.

Speaking at the start of his visit, Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said:

The Iran nuclear deal makes the world safer. That’s why it is vital that the international community sticks to the deal. It is working and has, so far, resulted in Iran giving up 95 percent of its uranium stockpile. These are the points I will be making in my meetings in the United States this week.

Supporting the nuclear deal does not mean we should not call out and take action against disruptive Iranian behaviour elsewhere, including its ballistic missile programme and the unjustified detention of British dual-nationals. However, it is vital that we do not conflate the issues on which we should rightly condemn Iran and a deal which is neutralising the threat of a nuclear-armed Iran.

It took thirteen years of tireless diplomacy between the UK, US, our European partners and Iran to make the world a safer place. Now is not the moment to put that at risk but rather it is time for the US and UK to draw on the strength of our relationship and to focus on addressing Iran’s destabilising activity in the region.

In two days of meetings on Capitol Hill, the Foreign Secretary will meet with Speaker Paul Ryan, House and Senate Majority Leaders Representative McCarthy and Senator McConnell, and the Chairmen and Ranking Members of the Senate Foreign Relations and House Foreign Affairs Committees, Senators Corker and Cardin, and Representatives Royce and Engel.