UK warns Iran over its announcement to back away from nuclear deal

Britain said Iran would face consequences if it backed away from its nuclear deal, following Tehran's announcement on Wednesday that it was scaling back curbs to its nuclear programme that had been agreed under a 2015 deal with world powers. "Today's announcement from Tehran is ... an unwelcome step," junior foreign office minister Mark Field told Britain's parliament. "We are not at this stage talking about reimposing sanctions, but one has to remember that they were, of course, lifted in exchange for the nuclear restrictions."

A year after Washington pulled out of the nuclear deal, Iran's President Hassan Rouhani unveiled measures that do not appear to violate its terms yet but could do so in the future if Iran were to persist on the course he set out. "Should Iran cease meeting its nuclear commitments, there would, of course, be consequences," Field said.