Boris Johnson calls for end to hostilities in call with Iran President

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Thursday spoke to Iranian President Hassan Rouhani to call for an end to hostilities between the US and Iran in the wake of mounting tensions in the region since America's killing of a top Iranian commander. Johnson also reiterated the UK’s continued commitment to the nuclear deal with Iran despite pressure from US President Donald Trump for Britain to abandon the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPoA) agreed back in 2015.

"They discussed the situation in the region following the death of Qasem Soleimani and the Prime Minister called for an end to hostilities,” a Downing Street spokesperson said in reference to the 20-minute telephone conversation between the two leaders. “The Prime Minister (Johnson) underlined the UK’s continued commitment to the JCPoA and to ongoing dialogue to avoid nuclear proliferation and reduce tensions,” the spokesperson said.

Johnson also called on Iran to release British dual nationals in detention in the country, including charity worker Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe. The call came after Iran fired missiles at air bases in Iraq where US and UK troops are stationed in retaliation to the killing of Soleimani.

UK foreign secretary Dominic Raab earlier said he recognised the threat Iran poses in the Middle East and a US "right to self-defence", after talks with his counterpart Mike Pompeo in Washington. Raab reiterated his support for a diplomatic resolution to the crisis during his meeting with the US Secretary of State during his US visit.

"We want to see the tensions de-escalated," he said. Raab also stressed the UK's commitment to the JCPOA on restricting Iran's nuclear programme, in which the country agreed to limit sensitive nuclear activities in return for the lifting of crippling economic sanctions.

The US withdrew from the deal in 2018, but the other parties – the UK, France, Germany, China and Russia – have said they were still dedicated to it. The British foreign minister said that while the UK has been committed to the deal, "we've reached a point where non-compliance has been so acute in the most recent steps taken by Iran".

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