BICOM

Prime Minister Theresa May stressed the importance of the US-UK “special relationship” in dealing with Iran but reiterated British support for the Iran nuclear deal.

Speaking at a press conference with US President Donald Trump, May said: “Today, we have discussed again the importance in our two nations working together to address Iran’s destabilising activities in the region, and to ensure sure Iran cannot acquire nuclear weapons. Although we differ on the means to achieving that, the UK continues to stand by the nuclear deal.”

Trump called the spread of nuclear weapons the “greatest threat” facing nations today, stressing that the US will not allow Iran to acquire nuclear weapons.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei responded yesterday by saying Tehran would not be “deceived” by Trump’s recent offer of negotiations and would not give up its missile programme, which he claims has reached a point of deterrence and stability. “They want to deprive us from it, but they will never succeed,” he added.

This morning President Trump said there is “always a chance” the US could take military action against Iran, but he would much rather hold talks with President Hassan Rouhani.

Speaking to ITV’s Good Morning Britain, the US President said: “Iran is a place that was extremely hostile when I first came into office … they were a terrorist nation, number one in the world at that time and probably maybe are today.” When asked whether he thought he would need to take military action against Iran, Trump replied: “There is always a chance. Do I want to? No, I’d rather not. But there’s always a chance.”

Last month, the US confirmed it will send hundreds of additional troops and a dozen fighter jets to the Middle East. The US believes that the recent incident in the UAE in which four Saudi commercial ships were sabotaged near Fujairah emirate, just outside the Strait of Hormuz, was carried out by Iran or Iranian-backed proxies.

Speaking at a recent press conference with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said:  “We are very worried about the risk of a conflict happening by accident, with an escalation that is unintended really on either side but ends with some kind of conflict. What we need is a period of calm to make sure that everyone understands what the other side is thinking.”