The fate of the Iran nuclear deal remained in the balance on Sunday, as the British foreign secretary, Boris Johnson, travelled to Washington for a series of meetings with the Trump administration in an attempt to keep the agreement intact.
Trump, a fierce critic of the deal, has until 12 May to decide if he will again waive sanctions against Iran in exchange for limitations on its nuclear ambitions. In January, the last time he signed off on the pact, the president warned that it faced a “last chance”. Trump has called for stricter measures, including curbing Iran’s access to ballistic missiles.
Speaking to CBS on Sunday, Britain’s ambassador to the US, Sir Kim Darroch, said: “The message we are hearing from all contacts in this administration is that although the president’s views on the deal are very clear and have been out there for months and months, and in fact for years, that a final decision hasn’t been taken.”
On Saturday, however, the Observer revealed that aides to Trump hired an Israeli private intelligence firm to conduct a “dirty ops” campaign against key negotiators from the Obama administration in an attempt to undermine the deal.
Johnson was not scheduled to meet Trump in Washington, but was expected to meet vice-president Mike Pence and the national security adviser, John Bolton, a foreign policy hawk who has long criticised the deal.
The foreign secretary was also expected to appear on the Fox & Friends morning news show on Monday, his office confirmed. Trump is known to watch the programme avidly.
For more read the full of article at The Guardian
