Tensions between the US and UK over whether to tear up the Iran nuclear deal were exposed on Thursday when the secretary of state, Rex Tillerson, said the US viewed Iran as being in default of the deal’s expectations but the British foreign secretary, Boris Johnson, urged the world to have faith in its potential to create a more open Iran.
Tillerson repeatedly emphasised that the US decision about whether to end the agreement – signed in 2015 – will be based on a wider assessment of Iranian behaviour, including in Yemen and Syria, and not just on whether Tehran is complying with the strict terms of the deal.
Donald Trump resumed his attacks on the agreement on Thursday, calling it “one of the worst deals I’ve ever seen”.
Trump claimed Iran had “violated so many different elements, but they’ve also violated the spirit of that deal”. He did not say what he would do on 15 October, when Congress requires the administration to certify Iran’s compliance, but said his stance would be “very evident”.