Trump's push for new Iran deal wins over UK's Boris Johnson
President Trump on Monday said he welcomes the support of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson in his quest for a new Iran deal.
Johnson earlier on Monday blamed Iran for last week's drone attacks on a Saudi oilfield that temporarily took 5 percent of the world’s crude oil production offline. The U.K. has increased its naval presence in the waters near Iran after Tehran began threatening British shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.
“Boris is a man who No. 1, he’s a friend of mine, and No. 2, he’s very smart, very tough,” Trump said at a Monday press conference at the United Nations.
FILE - In this Aug. 25, 2019, file photo, President Donald Trump and Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson, left, speak to the media before a working breakfast meeting at the Hotel du Palais on the sidelines of the G-7 summit in Biarritz, France. Jo
Speaking at the U.N. on Monday, Johnson said there needs to be a new Iran deal.
“Whatever your objections to the old nuclear deal with Iran, it’s time now to move forward and do a new deal,” Johnson told Sky News.
Trump withdrew the U.S. from the Iran deal, or Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, in May 2017, calling it the “worst deal ever.” The JCPOA gave Iran access to billions of dollars in cash without addressing Tehran’s terror financing and ballistic programs. The U.S. is the only country that has withdrawn from the deal.
Trump called Iran the “No. 1 state of terror in the world,” days after imposing sanctions on the country’s central bank.
“All that money paid and wasted," Trump said. “You didn’t have the right to inspect the appropriate sites. You were looking at sites that would never be used to create nuclear. The sites that they would use, we weren’t allowed to inspect. What kind of deal is that?”
Critics have also latched onto the fact that the deal will expire in 2025, allowing Iran to pursue nuclear enrichment.
Johnson’s support for re-examining the JCPOA could be a win for Trump, who has been urging the international community to crack down on Iran as it becomes increasingly more hostile toward the world’s oil supply.
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“I respect Boris a lot, and I’m not at all surprised he was the first one to come out and say that,” Trump said.