Nuclear Iran: Trump would be out of the deal to upset Obama

"The administration is betting on an act of diplomatic vandalism, apparently for ideological and personality reasons - it was the Obama agreement," Kim Darroch wrote in a diplomatic cable in May 2018.

In this document, part of a series of confidential reports that leaked and were published by the newspaper Mail on Sunday, the former British ambassador to the United States explains that Donald Trump is out of the Iranian nuclear deal because he was associated with his predecessor, Barack Obama.

Cable sent after Boris Johnson's visit

Following the visit of Boris Johnson, then British Foreign Minister, who went to Washington in May 2018 to try to persuade Donald Trump not to take the United States out of the Iranian nuclear deal (signed in December 2015), Kim Darroch identified divisions in the US President's team, and criticized the lack of a long-term White House strategy.

"They can not formulate any strategy for the 'next day', and contacts with the State Department this morning do not suggest any kind of plan for reaching out to partners and allies, whether in Europe or in Europe. the region, "wrote the ambassador in a cable sent following the minister's visit.

The former ambassador also reported that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo "had subtly distanced himself from talking about the 'President's decision'" during his talks with Boris Johnson.

The US secretary of state then hinted, according to Kim Darroch, unsuccessful attempts to "sell" a revised text to Donald Trump.

Concluded in 2015 between Iran, the United States, China, Russia, the United Kingdom, France and Germany, this agreement allowed the lifting of part of the sanctions against Tehran in exchange for the Iran's commitment not to acquire nuclear weapons.

On May 8, 2018, Donald Trump announced the withdrawal of the United States from this agreement.

Violation of the law on official secrets

The flight of these unflattering diplomatic notes on Donald Trump provoked a storm between the United Kingdom and its American ally.

In his reports, published in the press Saturday, July 6, Kim Darroch deemed the White House "inept", Donald Trump treating him in return for "foolish pretentious" with whom he would have no contact. The ambassador then announced his resignation the following Wednesday, now considering "impossible" to do his job.

The wacky ambassador of the United Kingdom is a very stupid guy. He should speak to his country, and Prime Minister May, about their failed Brexit negotiation, and not be upset with my criticism of how badly it was ...

Investigations into the origin of these leaks were ordered by the British government, and the police opened an investigation into a possible violation of the law on official secrets.

According to the Sunday Times, the investigations identified the source of the leak. The suspect is a British official who had access to the archives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Earlier this week, Britain's Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs Alan Duncan said that "an internal leakage [of the administration]" was "the first assumption".

On Saturday, British police were accused of threatening press freedom after issuing a warning against media outlets publishing confidential documents.