LONDON (dpa-AFX) - Ahead of his Washington trip, UK foreign secretary Boris Johnson has warned the US President that 'It would be a mistake to walk away' from the international nuclear agreement with Iran.
The agreement between Iran on the one side and the US, China, Russia, Germany, France and the UK on the other had lifted sanctions on Iran in return for curbs on its nuclear program.
France, the UK and Germany have been trying persuade the US president that the current deal is the best way to stop Iran developing nuclear weapons.
The UN also warned Donald Trump not to walk away from the deal.
However, Trump has threatened that the US will 'withdraw' from the deal on 12 May - the end of a 120-day review period - unless Congress and European powers fixed its 'disastrous flaws. He has strongly criticised the 2015 deal, calling it 'insane.'
Boris Johnson, who is scheduled to visit the United States Monday and Tuesday as part of a last-ditch effort to save the Iran deal ahead of a May 12 deadline, made the warning in an op-ed for the New York Times and during his appearance on 'Fox & Friends,' Trump's TV news show of choice.
Johnson wrote Sunday, 'At this delicate juncture, it would be a mistake to walk away from the nuclear agreement and remove the restraints that it places on Iran.'
'Now that these handcuffs are in place, I see no possible advantage in casting them aside. Only Iran would gain from abandoning the restrictions on its nuclear program,' according to the former London Mayor.
He said he believes that keeping the deal's constraints on Iran's nuclear program will also help counter Teheran's aggressive regional behavior.
Speaking to 'Fox & Friends,' Johnson pleaded with Trump not to 'throw the baby out with the bathwater' and pledged to work with him to improve the deal.
While in Washington, Johnson will not meet the president,but his deputy Mike Pence and other senior Trump administration figures, including National Security Adviser John Bolton.
Meanwhile, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani warned that the U.S. will face 'historic regret' if Trump scraps the nuclear agreement with Tehran.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX