Tory ministers oppose Iran nuclear deal

THE renegotiated Iran nuclear deal would destabilise the Middle East if adopted, three former Tory Cabinet ministers will argue today in a warning shot to the Government.

Robert Jenrick, the former communities secretary, Liam Fox, one-time defence secretary, and Stephen Crabb, the former welsh secretary, all back the critical motion that is to be debated in Parliament.

The motion lists proposed changes to the draft agreement, which seeks to curb Iran’s drive towards developing nuclear weapons, including bringing in a stricter regime of monitoring on Iran’s nuclear activity and tougher policing of Tehran’s “destabilising” activities.

The original Iran nuclear deal in which Tehran agreed to curb its nuclear development in return for the lifting of economic sanctions was struck in 2015 and was signed with the UK, US, China, France, Germany, Russia and the EU.

In 2018, Donald Trump withdrew America from the agreement, which was called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action [JCPOA], effectively triggering its collapse.

A new deal could be struck within weeks, with the UK as an original signatory expected to once again sign up.

But the Tory MPS and other supporters of the motion from Labour and the Liberal Democrats are understood to be concerned by the reworked agreement, which remains subject to negotiations.

The motion if passed will not be binding on the Government but it could indicate the scale of Tory opposition to the renegotiated agreement.

Mr Jenrick, who was key in drafting the motion, said: “The JCPOA was an inadequate response to Iran’s nuclear programme back in 2015. Why would we return to the deal when it has singularly failed to curtail Iran’s uranium enrichment?”