UK Opposes Trump Over Iran Policy

The UK’s top diplomat defended Britain’s support for the Iran nuclear deal during his first trip to Washington, taking on an issue that is emerging as a major source of contention in the relationship between the two allies.

But Jeremy Hunt, the UK’s new foreign secretary, signaled on Tuesday that his country’s view remains unchanged and said the 2015 nuclear accord negotiated by the Obama administration and other world powers was the best way to contain what he claimed was the threat from Iran, Wall Street Journal reported.

“We do have a genuine difference of opinion because we think the best way to stop Iran from developing nuclear weapons is to stick with the nuclear deal,” Hunt told an audience at the United States Institute of Peace. “The administration has a different view.”

When asked by The Wall Street Journal, Hunt declined to address how the UK’s ongoing effort alongside France and Germany to keep trade with Iran alive might affect trade talks with the Trump administration.

The European push to save Iran from economic isolation and preserve the nuclear deal runs counter to one of the US’s foremost foreign-policy objectives. In recent weeks, the U.S. has redoubled efforts to persuade European countries to cut ties with Iran.