Trump: I Asked the British Prime Minister to Continue Pressure on Iran

Donald Trump, the President of the United States, emphasized that during his meeting with Theresa May, the Prime Minister of Britain, they discussed Iran and that Britain should continue its pressure on Tehran. In a joint press conference with the British Prime Minister on Friday, July 13, he also stated that both agree that Iran should never acquire nuclear weapons. Mrs. May mentioned in the press conference that she discussed next steps regarding Iran in her negotiations with Mr. Trump. Donald Trump arrived in London on Thursday after attending the NATO summit in Brussels, where several rounds of talks between the leaders of the two countries took place over the past two days. After the U.S. withdrawal from the JCPOA, Britain, along with two other European countries, Germany and France, engaged in negotiations with Iran aimed at 'exploring ways to save the nuclear agreement despite U.S. sanctions,' and the foreign and finance ministers of the three countries sent a letter to Steve Mnuchin, the U.S. Treasury Secretary, last month. However, France announced on Friday that the U.S. rejected its request for exemptions for French companies from sanctions against Iran. Despite the three European countries' emphasis on their desire to maintain the JCPOA, officials from these countries have repeatedly stated that they agree with the U.S. regarding Iran's ballistic missile program and the Islamic Republic's actions in the region. Trump's visit to Britain came immediately after his attendance at the NATO summit in Brussels, and thus, part of the journalists' questions in the press conference on Friday was about this. Mr. Trump criticized media outlets that he labeled as 'fake news' and stated that what was achieved at the end of the NATO summit was an 'incredible unity' among members. The U.S. President has previously criticized the imbalance in member contributions to NATO and the failure of some members to meet their financial commitments, and reports of his continued in-person criticisms emerged during the two-day NATO summit. In his press conference on Friday, Trump responded to a question regarding whether 'weakening NATO' is a gift for Putin by again criticizing some media and stated that the NATO summit ended with an 'incredible unity' among members because of him, and since he has been in the White House, NATO's budget has increased by '34 billion dollars.' Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin are scheduled to meet on Monday in Helsinki, the capital of Finland. The U.S. President stated that they will discuss various topics, including Ukraine, Syria, and nuclear non-proliferation. Part of the journalists' questions in the press conference on Friday was dedicated to Trump's recent interview with the British publication 'The Sun,' which contained his criticisms of Theresa May and praise for the resigned Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson. In that interview, the U.S. President stated that May's plan regarding the details of Britain's exit from the European Union 'will destroy trade relations between Britain and the U.S.' However, Trump emphasized on Friday that his praise for Boris Johnson does not undermine Theresa May's leadership abilities, and he has closely seen Mrs. May's 'powerful, intelligent, and good negotiating' character over the past two days.