Britain has given a significant indication that it is considering withdrawing from the Iran nuclear deal if the country continues to carry out attacks in the Middle East. The comments by Foreign Secretary Dominc Raab in Washington is the first time the UK has mentioned the possibility – a move that would be a dramatic shift in policy.
The warning follows President Trump using a keynote address on Wednesday in which he called for Britain and other co-signatories to end the disastrous deal and reimpose sanctions. Until now Britain has continued to back the deal, including this week, despite increasing tensions in the region and the fact that Iran has breached its terms several times.
“The very defective JCPOA expires shortly anyway, and gives Iran a clear and quick path to nuclear breakout, said Trump in an official address at the White House on Wednesday, “Iran must abandon its nuclear ambitions and end its support for terrorism. The time has come for the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Russia, and China to recognise this reality.”
The plea by the President followed Iran’s launch of 22 missiles at two Iraqi air bases housing US troops.
“They must now break away from the remnants of the Iran deal -– or JCPOA –- and we must all work together toward making a deal with Iran that makes the world a safer and more peaceful place.”
After a meeting with the US Secretary of State in Washington, Dominic Raab hit out at Iran’s government and suggested for the first time that the Iran deal, officially called JCPOA, may be under threat.
“We have obviously been committed to the JCPOA but we’ve reached a point where non-compliance has been so acute, in the most recent steps taken by Iran, obviously we are going to be looking very hard at what should happen next. We want to see Iran come back to full compliance and we will be looking at all measures including potential triggering the DRM.”
The DRM, or dispute resolution mechanism, allows any signatory to the deal to register that they believe another party is not fulfilling its terms. An independent commission then launches an inquiry into the complaint, and if it is not resolved within five weeks then the complainant can abandon its obligations.
WATCH: Secretary Pompeo meets with UK Foreign Secretary Raab. pic.twitter.com/lMhGr94GWX
— The Hill (@thehill) January 9, 2020
Raab’s comments came following Prime Minister Johnson’s conversation with Iran’s President Rouhani in which Johnson reportedly reaffirmed the UK’s support for the deal.
After the assassination of military commander Qassem Soleimani last week, Iran’s government announced that it no longer felt bound by the terms of the JCPOA. The country’s foreign minister said the step was “reversible” depending on the response of other countries.
CUFI UK calls for Britain to end the Iran deal
The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), otherwise known as the Iran Deal, was signed in 2015 in an effort to curtail Iran’s nuclear ambitions. The deal is not worth the paper it is written on.
Far from stopping Iran’s dangerous plans of developing a nuclear weapon, the deal instead only sought to delay whilst at the same time funnelling tens of billions of pounds into the hands of a regime hell-bent on Israel’s destruction.
To date, Iran has increased its funding to Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) in Gaza, supplying them with new weaponry and millions of pounds worth of funding every single month. In Lebanon, on Israel’s northern border, Hezbollah, which is under the direct control of Iran, is increasing its military might whilst holding Lebanon under its control politically. And the Iranian army has now moved into Syria and Iraq, creating a pathway straight from Tehran to Israel’s northern border. Furthermore, Iran now boasts of possessing missiles that can reach Europe. With the regime’s anti-West ideology, this should be of great concern to Britain and our allies.
The money Iran has received through this deal could have gone a long way to rebuilding their economy. Instead, the Mullahs of Tehran decided to fund terrorism in foreign lands with the billions they received. In fact Iran is the largest state-sponsor of international terrorism. It is no surprise that Iranian protesters, who are being brutally targeted for protesting, are accusing the regime of neglecting its own people whilst funding Palestinians.
Iran is responsible for deadly terrorism against Israel. The rockets fired into Israeli civilian homes in November came directly from Iran. The Middle East is being further destabilised by terrorist militias controlled by Iran and even the Iranian Revolutionary Guards themselves brutally killing and suppressing Iranian protesters.
Sadly Britain, by supporting the Iran Deal, is allowing funds to reach Iran that enable these dangerous actions.
Therefore, Britain must leave the Iran Deal, not only for Israel’s sake, but for the Iranian people and the entire region to be free from the terror caused and funded by the Iranian regime.
Click the image below to add your name
