Mubasher: The US urged the UK to ditch its support for the 2015 nuclear accord with Tehran and unite with Washington to face the global threat posed by Iran.

US Ambassador to the UK Woody Johnson took aim at the oil-rich Persian Gulf country for funding “proxy wars and malign activities” instead of directing its investment into the national economy, adding that Iran should make actual and sustained changes to behave as an ordinary country.

“Until then, America is turning up the pressure and we want the UK by our side,” Johnson said in an article in the Sunday Telegraph newspaper, asking the European nation to “use its considerable diplomatic power and influence and join [the US which leads] a concerted global effort toward a genuinely comprehensive agreement.”

In May, the US announced its withdrawal from the nuclear deal struck by the world’s major powers, including the UK, with Iran, under which  the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries’ (OPEC) third-largest producer agreed to limit its uranium enrichment activities in return for sanctions relief.

The UK, France and Germany scrambled to save the agreement, as the White House prepared new sanctions.

On the other hand, the Minister of the State for the Middle East at the UK foreign office Alistair Burt last week ruled out that London would go along with Washington, saying that the nuclear pact is a vital part of regional security.

The UK, along with the European Union (UN), was trying to protect its companies from the US sanctions, when doing business with Iran, Burt said, adding that London is still open to discuss with Washington on addressing concerns about Tehran.