Foreign Office minister: Iran’s breaches of nuclear deal shouldn’t be ignored

The international community should not overlook Iran’s breaches of a deal aimed at curbing its nuclear ambitions, a Foreign Office minister has said.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson will today chair a virtual meeting of the leaders of the G7 where the subject of the Iran nuclear deal is expected to be raised.

The Biden administration has said it is ready to join talks with Iran and world powers to discuss a return to the 2015 nuclear deal, in a sharp rejection of former president Donald Trump’s campaign that sought to isolate the Islamic Republic.

Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Foreign Office minister James Cleverly said it is up to Tehran to start adhering to the treaty it signed.

He added: “It is absolutely right that Iran must come back into compliance with the JCPOA (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action). We’ve called upon them to do so.

“Ultimately it is in their hands. They are calling for the international community to ease sanctions and that kind of stuff, but ultimately that is in their hands.”

On whether sanctions should be lifted to “unlock” talks, he added: “I don’t think that we should be sending a signal that we are going to overlook this non-compliance or just brush it under the carpet.

“This is in Iran’s hands. They are the ones breaching the conditions of the JCPOA. They are the ones that can do something about this and they should come back into compliance.”