British Prime Minister Theresa May said Iran has honored the multilateral agreement to limit its nuclear weapons program and said the deal should remain in place, in sharp contrast with U.S. policy under President Donald Trump who has pulled America out of the deal.
“From what we see, we believe that it is doing that,” May told “CBS This Morning” co-host John Dickerson in an interview Friday when asked if Iran has been abiding by the agreement. She said that the question of Iran’s adherence to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action is “an area where I do have a difference of opinion” with Trump.
“We do agree with the United States that there are other aspects of Iran’s behavior that we need to be dealing with, too,” May said, citing as examples the country’s development of ballistic missiles and its actions that “destabilize the region.”
“We need to address those issues, too. But we also want to ensure that we have a nuclear deal in place that prevents them from getting a nuclear weapon,” she said.
The interview with Dickerson took place Friday and will air Monday morning.
May said that Britain and the other nations that worked on the JPCOA believe “it should stay in place.” Keeping the deal in place will mean Britain and the other signatures will not adhere to some U.S. sanctions on Iran and that companies from those countries can conduct business with the theocratic regime.
On “Face the Nation” Sunday, Dickerson asked U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley about May’s comments.
“The Europeans have a decision to make,” Haley said. “And I think that decision is already being made. If you look, they are dropping business from Iran left and right.”
Dickerson pointed out that the United Kingdom is permitting companies to do with business with Iran and asked Haley if it was still the administration’s position that “anyone doing business with Iran will not be doing business with the United States.”
“That is still the case. And that’s the conversation for Prime Minister May and President Trump to have. But that’s still very much the case. We’re not going to give exemptions to Iran,” Haley said.
Trump is expected to use a series of speeches to push a hard line against Iran during meetings at this week’s annual United Nations General Assembly in New York.
