Iran nuclear deal: Donald Trump must offer 'concrete steps on the way ahead' after pulling out of pact, says Boris Johnson

Foreign secretary urges US to 'avoid taking any action that would hinder other parties from continuing to make the agreement work'

Donald Trump withdraws from nuclear deal with Iran

Donald Trump must bring forward “concrete steps” for dealing with Iran’s nuclear ambitions after announcing he would pull the US out of the 2015 international agreement, Boris Johnson has said.

Speaking in the House of Commons, the foreign secretary said that while Washington’s continuing involvement in the deal would have been “the better course”, responsibility now lay with “the American administration to spell out their view of the way ahead”.

Mr Trump had committed himself to finding a new solution and MPs should take him “at his word”, Mr Johnson said. Mr trump later advised Iran not to restart their nuclear programme.

“In the meantime, I urge the US to avoid taking any action that would hinder other parties from continuing to make the agreement work in the interest of our collective national security,” he added.

Please allow a moment for the live blog to load

Mr Trump‘s announcement that he would pull the US out of the Iran nuclear deal was “silly and superficial”, Iran’s supreme leader said earlier, and contained “more than 10 lies”.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on his official website: “He had maybe more than 10 lies in his comments. He threatened the regime and the people, saying you’re doing this and that. Mr Trump, I tell you on behalf of the Iranian people: You’ve made a mistake.”

Hard-line members of parliament also burned an American flag after Mr Trump called the nuclear agreement “rotten” and “defective at its core” – defying weeks of lobbying by France, Britain and Germany who had wanted him to remain in the pact.

“Trump does not have the mental capacity to deal with issues,” Iranian parliament speaker Ali Larijani said. The billionaire only understands the language of force and his decision to pull out of the agreement will isolate the US, Mr Larijani added.

Announcing his decision on Tuesday Mr Trump said he would re-impose sanctions on Iran to punish it for what he called “state-sponsored terror” in the Middle East.

“Any nation that helps Iran in its quest for nuclear weapons could be strongly sanctioned,” he added.

France called his withdrawal an “error” and said the US was not the “economic policeman of the planet”, while the country’s foreign minister, Jean-Yves Le Drian, insisted the deal was “not dead”.

The leaders of the UK, France and Germany said they had a “continuing commitment” to the deal. Emmanuel Macron is to speak with Iranian president Hassan Rouhani on Wednesday and urge him to keep to its terms.

In a tweet, he said “the nuclear non-proliferation regime is at stake”, and Mr Le Drian added that there was now a “real risk” of confrontation in the region.

Mr Trump’s decision was unpopular at home, a poll released on Tuesday suggested. Fewer than one in three Americans agreed with pulling out of the Iran nuclear deal, with 42 per cent explicitly against the move and 29 per cent in favour; 28 per cent did not register a preference.

Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu, however, backed Mr Trump and said he had shown “courageous leadership”. “The deal didn’t reduce Iran’s aggression. It dramatically increased it,” he added.

China urged all parties to stick to the deal, to which it, along with Russia and the three European countries, are party.

Gong Xiaosheng, its envoy for the Middle East, said the agreement was “very serious and important” and that it promoted peace and stability in the region. “Dialogue is better than confrontation,” he added, according to the state-run Xinhua news agency.

Key Points

• Donald Trump pulls out of international agreement
• But US President advises Iran 'not to restart their nuclear programme'
• Deal 'not dead' insists France
• EU tells US president he doesn’t have the power to scrap the Iran nuclear deal
• Our Diplomatic Editor Kim Sengupta analyses Mr Trump's decision

[9 May 2018 07:31 · Jon Sharman]

Welcome to our live coverage of the reaction to Donald Trump's decision to pull out of the Iran nuclear deal.

[9 May 2018 07:32 · Jon Sharman]

The major European powers, France, Britain and Germany, say they have a "continuing commitment" to the agreement, with France's foreign minister saying it is "not dead".

[9 May 2018 07:33 · Jon Sharman]

Trade between the EU and Iran has soared since sanctions were lifted as part of the deal.

Iran’s exports to the bloc – mainly fuel and other energy products – in 2016 leapt 344 per cent to €5.5bn (£4.8bn) compared to the year before, while investment in Iran jumped to more than €20bn.

[9 May 2018 07:34 · Jon Sharman]

Here is our story covering the moment Mr Trump announced his decision to pull out.

[9 May 2018 08:07 · Jon Sharman]

The European countries are so closely tied to the US they cannot make independent decisions, the head of Iran's revolutionary guard has claimed after Donald Trump's announcement.

The UK, France and Germany have urged Mr Trump not to make things difficult for other countries that still want to maintain the Iran nuclear deal. Trade between Iran and the EU has rocketed since the bloc relaxed sanctions in 2015.

Revolutionary guard commander Major General Mohammad Ali Jafari cast doubt on the European allies' ability to act without the US or preserve the agreement.

"It's clear that the Europeans can not make an independent decision between Iran and America and are tied to America," he said. "The fate of the Iran deal is clear."

The US withdrawal showed it was merely an excuse to try and limit the Islamic Republic's missile programme and regional influence, Maj Gen Jafari added, according to Fars News.

Additional reporting by Reuters

[9 May 2018 08:20 · Jon Sharman]

[9 May 2018 08:35 · Jon Sharman]

Hard-line Iranian MPs have burned an American flag in response to Donald Trump's decision.

Iranian officials, including the parliament speaker Ali Larijani, said they wanted Europe to work with them to preserve the deal.

[9 May 2018 08:50 · Jon Sharman]

Oil refineries in Asia are trying to find alternatives to Iranian supplies as the US prepares to re-impose sanctions.

The Islamic Republic is the third-largest producer in the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, and its economy relies heavily on oil revenue.

China is Iran's biggest customer. Chinese refiners, however, said they could find alternative supplies from Russia, Saudi Arabia and West Africa.

After Mr Trump's decision to pull out of the Iran nuclear deal, Brent crude futures, the international benchmark for oil prices, rose to their highest level since November 2014 on Wednesday, at $76.75 (£56.77) per barrel.

Additional reporting by Reuters

[9 May 2018 09:05 · Jon Sharman]

Boris Johnson is presenting a united front alongside France and Germany following the US withdrawal.

[9 May 2018 09:20 · Jon Sharman]

Iran's foreign minister has said he will "spearhead" an inquiry into whether the countries remaining in the nuclear deal can keep it going.