Britain's Boris Johnson Calls for Trump to Keep Iran Nuclear Deal Intact

British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson is urging President Donald Trump not to pull out of the Iran nuclear deal.

His comments came in a column for The New York Times posted Sunday.

Johnson is on a two-day visit to Washington for talks with the Trump administration.

"Of all the options we have for ensuring that Iran never gets a nuclear weapon, this pact offers the fewest disadvantages," he said.

"It has weaknesses, certainly, but I am convinced they can be remedied. Indeed, at this moment Britain is working alongside the Trump administration and our French and German allies to ensure that they are."

He recalled Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's speech to the United Nations in September 2012.

"At that moment, Iran's nuclear plants held an estimated 11,500 centrifuges and nearly seven tons of low-enriched uranium — totals that would rise to nearly 20,000 centrifuges and eight tons of uranium," he said.

"Had the leaders of the Islamic Republic decided to go for a nuclear arsenal, they would have needed only a few months to produce enough weapons-grade uranium for their first bomb."

But he noted that "under the deal, Iran has placed two-thirds of its centrifuges in storage and relinquished about 95 percent of its uranium stockpile."

And he said inspectors are also able to monitor Iran's nuclear facilities.

"Now that these handcuffs are in place, I see no possible advantage in casting them aside," he said. "Only Iran would gain from abandoning the restrictions on its nuclear program."

He maintained Britain shares Trump's concerns about Iran.

But he said: "We all played our part in helping the Trump administration maximize the pressure on North Korea, a strategy that now appears to be bearing fruit. We share the same concerns about Iran. I believe we are very close to a position that would address President Trump's concerns and strengthen trans-Atlantic unity."

And he said it would be a mistake to walk away from the agreement with Iran.

"I believe that keeping the deal's constraints on Iran's nuclear program will also help counter Tehran's aggressive regional behavior," Johnson said.

"I am sure of one thing: every available alternative is worse. The wisest course would be to improve the handcuffs rather than break them."

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