The United States has issued a public call to its ally Britain to back its economic and political campaign to punish Iran for backing proxy wars and “malign activities” abroad.
The US ambassador to London, Woody Johnson, said the UK should use its “considerable diplomatic power and influence” to secure a new deal that curtails Iran’s nuclear ambitions.
US President Donald Trump pulled out of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) three months ago in the face of strong lobbying from the UK, European powers, Russia and China, who backed the continuation of the Barack Obama-era deal.
The UK has made it clear that it opposed Mr Trump’s move, one of a number of foreign policy disagreements that have strained relations between the two long-term allies.
In co-ordination with European powers, the UK has continued to work to enable companies to trade with Iran even as Mr Trump has imposed fresh sanctions and warned companies of the dangers of doing business with the country.
Mr Johnson made clear in a newspaper column at the weekend that he wanted the UK to split from the European bloc to work with the US on the package of anti-Iranian sanctions. He said that Iran had squandered the economic benefit from the 2015 nuclear deal to ramp up military spending and expand its terrorist networks.
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Read more:
Iran Supreme Leader calls for reaction to 'economic war'
A choice between reform, adjustment and self-sabotage: Tehran considers its options
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"The Iranian regime is spending billions of dollars to destabilise the region. It is backing Assad's atrocities against the Syrian people," he wrote in an article for UK's Sunday Telegraph newspaper.
“It is launching cyber attacks against Western democracies. It is sponsoring Hezbollah terrorists in Lebanon. It is arming militants in Yemen. It has publicly stated its quest to destroy Israel.”
Mr Johnson said the Trump administration had spent the last year talking with its closest ally Britain to fix the nuclear agreement.
“The only sensible course of action was to rip it up and build a lasting agreement on more solid foundations,” he wrote.
“Until then, America is turning up the pressure and we want the UK by our side. It is time to move on from the flawed 2015 deal.
“We are asking global Britain to use its considerable diplomatic power and influence and join us as we lead a concerted global effort towards a genuinely comprehensive agreement.”
The article followed comments by Britain's Middle East minister, Alistair Burt, who last week ruled out Britain going along with the policy of the US.
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Between the start of the 2020 IPL on September 20, and the end of the Pakistan Super League this coming Thursday, the Zayed Cricket Stadium has had an unprecedented amount of traffic.
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FTO designations impose immigration restrictions on members of the organisation simply by virtue of their membership and triggers a criminal prohibition on knowingly providing material support or resources to the designated organisation as well as asset freezes.
It is a crime for a person in the United States or subject to the jurisdiction of the United States to knowingly provide “material support or resources” to or receive military-type training from or on behalf of a designated FTO.
Representatives and members of a designated FTO, if they are aliens, are inadmissible to and, in certain circumstances removable from, the United States.
Except as authorised by the Secretary of the Treasury, any US financial institution that becomes aware that it has possession of or control over funds in which an FTO or its agent has an interest must retain possession of or control over the funds and report the funds to the Treasury Department.
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