Trump scrapped Iran deal to spite Obama: New leak claims

US President Donald Trump abandoned the Iran nuclear deal tospite his predecessor Barack Obama, claimed a new leaked memo written by KimDarroch, the UK’s former ambassador to the US.

According to the Mail newspaper on Sunday, the memo waswritten after the then Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson appealed to the US in2018 to stick with the nuclear deal, the BBC reported.

   

Citing the leaked memo, the newspaper said that afterJohnson returned to the UK from the US, Darroch wrote that President Trumpappeared to be abandoning the nuclear deal for “personality reasons”because the pact had been agreed by Obama.

The former British Ambassador is said to have highlightedsplits amongst US presidential advisors and that the White House did not have a”day-to-day” strategy of what to do following withdrawal from the deal.

The Mail newspaper reported that Darroch wrote a memo toJohnson, saying: “The outcome illustrated the paradox of this White House:you got exceptional access, seeing everyone short of the President; but on thesubstance, the administration is set upon an act of diplomatic vandalism,seemingly for ideological and personality reasons – it was Obama’s deal.

“Moreover, they can’t articulate any ‘day-after’strategy; and contacts with State Department this morning suggest no sort ofplan for reaching out to partners and allies, whether in Europe or theregion.”

The latest disclosure comes despite a warning from ScotlandYard to the media about publishing leaked diplomatic memos, the BBC reported.

They warned that journalists who released further details ofthe former Ambassador’s communications could be in breach of the OfficialSecrets Act.

The first memos, which emerged exactly a week ago on July 7,saw the then UK Ambassador refer to the Trump administration as “clumsyand inept”, which prompted a furious response from the US President, whodescribed Darroch as “a very stupid guy” with whom he would no longerdeal.

The UK government launched an internal Whitehall inquiryinto the publication following the reports.

But Darroch stepped down as US ambassador on Wednesday,saying it was “impossible” for him to continue.

Following his resignation police launched a criminalinvestigation into the origins of the leak with Scotland Yard’s AssistantCommissioner Neil Basu saying there was a “clear public interest” inbringing those responsible to justice.

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