TRUMP DITCHED IRAN DEAL TO SPITE OBAMA: UK ENVOY
Britain’s ambassador to Washington believed US President Donald Trump pulled out of the Iran nuclear deal because it was associated with his predecessor Barack Obama, according to leaked documents published Saturday.
“The administration is set upon an act of diplomatic vandalism, seemingly for ideological and personality reasons -- it was Obama’s deal,” ambassador Kim Darroch wrote in a diplomatic cable in May 2018.
The cable was included in a second batch of leaked reports published by the Mail on Sunday newspaper, the first of which caused Darroch to resign earlier this week.
Separately, the Sunday Times reported that a government investigation into the leak had identified a civil servant as the person responsible.
Working with officials from the National Cyber Security Centre, part of spy agency GCHQ, and MI6, the probe has homed in on a suspect who had access to historical Foreign Office files, the paper said.
The first leaked reports authored by Darroch were published last weekend, causing major turmoil between Britain and its closest ally.
In May 2018, Britain’s thenforeign Minister Boris Johnson went to Washington to try to
persuade Trump not to abandon the Iran deal.
In a cable sent afterwards, Darroch reportedly indicated there were divisions in Trump’s team over the decision, and criticised the White House for a lack of long-term strategy.
“They can’t articulate any ‘day-after’ strategy; and contacts with State Department this morning suggest no sort of plan for reaching out to partners and allies, whether in Europe or the region,” he wrote.
LONDON (AFP), 14 JULY, 2019
The administration is set upon an act of diplomatic vandalism, seemingly for ideological and personality reasons -it was Obama’s deal