Trump 'pulled out of Iran nuclear deal to spite Obama', suggests Kim Darroch in new leaked memo

Donald Trump pulled out of the Iran nuclear deal to spite his predecessor Barack Obama, the UK’s former ambassador reportedly suggested in a new leaked diplomatic memo.

Sir Kim Darroch claimed the US president’s actions amounted to “diplomatic vandalism” and were fuelled by “personality” reasons, according to a document seen by The Mail on Sunday.

The ambassador’s comments are said to have been made in May 2018 after Boris Johnson, who was foreign secretary at the time, made a failed trip to the White House in a bid to change Mr Trump’s mind on leaving the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.

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The latest revelation came as police identified a suspect behind the leak, according to The Sunday Times.

Just hours earlier, Mr Johnson and Tory leadership rival Jeremy Hunt criticised Metropolitan Police assistant commissioner Neil Basu for warning journalists they could face prosecution for publishing the memos.

Shape Created with Sketch. UK news in pictures Show all 50 left Created with Sketch. right Created with Sketch. Shape Created with Sketch. UK news in pictures 1/50 12 July 2019 Giant Panda, Yang Guang, exploring his new home at Edinburgh Zoo after moving in last week RZSS/PA 2/50 11 July 2019 England's captain Eoin Morgan, left, celebrates with teammate Joe Root after winning their Cricket World Cup semi-final match against Australia at Edgbaston in Birmingham. The host nation blew away their rivals by 8 wickets with 107 balls remaining AP 3/50 10 July 2019 Andy Murray and Serena Williams talk as they play Bruno Soares and Nicole Melichar during their mixed doubles third round match of the Wimbledon Championships. 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He has signed a three-year contract with the Premier League club, where he spent 13 years and became the team's all-time leading scorer with 211 goals AFP/Getty 10/50 3 July 2019 A grey seal named after Sir David Attenborough is released back into the wild after months being treated at RSPCA East Winch Wildlife Centre in Norfolk after it was found with a plastic frisbee disc embedded in its neck PA 11/50 2 July 2019 The Kirby Estate in London is decorated with St George flags ahead of the Women's World Cup semi-final match between England and the USA PA 12/50 1 July 2019 People sleep as Glastonbury Festival 2019 comes to an end SWNS 13/50 30 June 2019 The crowd enjoys the atmosphere as Years & Years perform on the Pyramid Stage during day five of the Glastonbury Festival at Worthy Farm, Pilton on June 30, 2019 in Glastonbury, England Getty 14/50 29 June 2019 A couple make their way across the sand with their belongings as people enjoy the sunshine and hot weather on Bournemouth Beach in Dorset. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Saturday June 29, 2019 PA 15/50 28 June 2019 A lion-tailed macaque stays cool in the hot weather by eating frozen treats with fruit at Camperdown Wildlife Centre, Dundee Katielee Arrowsmith / SWNS 16/50 27 June 2019 A festival goer dance with LED hula hoops on the second day of Glastonbury Festival 2019 PA 17/50 26 June 2019 Festival goers warm up prior to the gates opening at 8am on the first day of Glastonbury 2019 Adam Gray / SWNS 18/50 25 June 2019 An early glimpse of this year's Glastonbury Festival is given in this picture taken by a local who glided over the site in their paramotor James Pearce / SWNS 19/50 24 June 2019 The interior roof of a Tesco shop collapses under the torrential rain in Stirling, Scotland on 24 June James Charity 20/50 23 June 2019 Steph Houghton celebrates with teammates after scoring England's first goal during the Women's World Cup round of 16 match against Cameroon at the Stade du Hainaut stadium in Valenciennes, France AP 21/50 22 June 2019 Pride marchers at a rally outside the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh PA 22/50 21 June 2019 The sun rises between the stones and over crowds at Stonehenge where people gather to celebrate the dawn of the longest day in the UK. The neolithic Wiltshire monument is built along the solstice alignment of the summer sunrise and the winter sunset. On the longest day of the year, the sun rises behind the Heel Stone, the ancient entrance to the Stone Circle, and rays of sunlight are channeled into the centre of the monument PA 23/50 20 June 2019 Frankie Dettori celebrates with the trophy after winning the 4.20 Gold Cup on Stradivarius as Queen Elizabeth looks on Action/Reuters 24/50 19 June 2019 Endangered Amur tiger cub Makari plays with a pinata which was given to him and brothers Dmitri and Czar as they celebrate their first birthday this week at Whipsnade Zoo in Dunstable PA 25/50 18 June 2019 Eoin Morgan celebrates his century with Joe Root during England's ICC Cricket World Cup match against Afghanistan at Old Trafford in Manchester. Morgan hit 17 sixes and set a new record in one-day international cricket, which saw his side win by 150 runs Getty 26/50 17 June 2019 Worcestershire County Cricket Club's New Road ground fully submerged by floodwater following heavy rainfall in the area. Worcestershire switched next week's County Championship home game with Sussex to Kidderminster due to the threat of flooding at the ground PA 27/50 16 June 2019 Dominic Raab (left) and Rory Stewart during the live television debate on Channel 4 for the candidates for leadership of the Conservative party, at the Here East studios in Stratford, east London PA 28/50 15 June 2019 Great Britain celebrate their first place on the podium during the Accenture World Triathlon Mixed Relay at Nottingham Embankment PA 29/50 14 June 2019 Mayor of London Sadiq Khan speaks at a service of remembrance at St Helens church, London, to mark the two-year anniversary of the Grenfell Tower block fire PA 30/50 13 June 2019 Community member Desi Cranenburgh attaches her latest homemade tribute near to the site of Grenfell Tower in London, a day before the second anniversary of the fire which killed 72 people Getty 31/50 12 June 2019 Boris Johnson during the launch of his campaign to become leader of the Conservative and Unionist Party and Prime Minister at the Royal Academy of Engineering in central London PA 32/50 11 June 2019 Strip club dancer Celia Lister protests with other demonstrators to oppose moves to close a branch of Spearmint Rhino in Sheffield. Dancers marched through the city centre after a row developed over whether to renew Spearmint Rhino's licence for the premises. The debate deepened after reports a video had been filmed by private investigators of sex acts taking place in the club PA 33/50 10 June 2019 A peregrine falcon chick calls out during ringing and data collection by RSPB expert handlers in the tower at Salisbury Cathedral. Four newly hatched birds of prey are nesting along with mum and dad on the South tower. PA 34/50 9 June 2019 England's forward Ellen White celebrates after scoring during the France 2019 Women's World Cup Group D football match between England and Scotland. White's goal was England's second of the match, which they went on to win 2-1 AFP/Getty 35/50 8 June 2019 Jason Roy celebrates his century with Joe Root. He went on to hit 153 as England scored their highest Cricket World Cup total of 386. The hosts beat Bangladesh by 106 runs to bounce back from defeat to Pakistan in their previous match Action/Reuters 36/50 7 June 2019 Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn celebrates with newly elected labour MP Lisa Forbes at Cathedral Square, Peterborough following her victory in the Peterborough by-election. The newly-formed Brexit Party lost out to Labour by 683 votes PA 37/50 6 June 2019 Veterans observe a two minute silence at the National Memorial Arboretum at Alrewas, in Staffordshire, for a service to mark the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landings PA 38/50 5 June 2019 French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Theresa May, Britain's Prince Charles, Queen Elizabeth II, President Donald Trump, first lady Melania Trump and Greek President Prokopis Pavlopoulos, front row from left, watch a fly past at the end of an event to mark the 75th anniversary of D-Day in Portsmouth AP 39/50 4 June 2019 Anti-Donald Trump protesters gather with a Trump baby blimp flying over Parliament Square for a protest against the US president's state visit to the UK EPA 40/50 3 June 2019 Queen Elizabeth II views a display of US items of the Royal collection with US President Donald Trump and US First Lady Melania Trump at Buckingham palace AFP/Getty 41/50 2 June 2019 Liverpool's players celebrate with the Champions League trophy on board a parade bus after winning the final against Tottenham Hotspur, in Madrid the night before Getty 42/50 1 June 2019 Fans gather in Madrid ahead of the all-English club Champions League Final between Tottenham and Liverpool Reuters 43/50 31 May 2019 Racegoers during Ladies Day of the 2019 Investec Derby Festival at Epsom Racecourse, Epsom. PA 44/50 30 May 2019 Jofra Archer celebrates taking the wicket of South Africa's Aiden Markram during England's opening ICC Cricket World Cup match at the Kia Oval in London. The hosts beat South Africa by 104 runs Action/Reuters 45/50 29 May 2019 The Red Arrows in the Apollo formation while performing a full display at Chalkoutsi, Greece. The aerobatic display team have been granted formal approval on Wednesday to perform for audiences, known as Public Display Authority (PDA), to mark the official start of the Red Arrows' 55th display season Cpl Ashley Keates/PA 46/50 28 May 2019 British Environment Secretary Michael Gove returns to his home following a run in London. EPA 47/50 27 May 2019 Participants throw themselves down Cooper's Hill for the annual cheese rolling in Brockworth, Gloucestershire PA 48/50 26 May 2019 Jason Pearce and Chris Solly lift the League One play-off trophy following Charlton's victory against Sunderland. 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Mr Basu said the leaked emails could be a “criminal matter” that was not in the public interest, and that a police investigation had been launched into a potential breach of the Official Secrets Act.

Mr Hunt said he would “defend to the hilt the right of the press to publish those leaks if they receive them and judge them to be in the public interest”.

And Mr Johnson said prosecution “would amount to an infringement on press freedom and have a chilling effect on public debate”.

In a memo to Downing Street on 8 May last year, sent after Mr Johnson returned to London, Sir Kim said the Trump administration was “set upon an act of diplomatic vandalism, seemingly for ideological and personality reasons – it was Obama’s deal”, The Mail on Sunday reported.

He is said to have suggested that there were splits among Mr Trump’s closest advisers – with Mike Pompeo, the secretary of state, distancing himself from the president’s actions – and that the White House lacked a strategy on what to do following its withdrawal from the Iran deal.

Neither Mr Pompeo nor Mike Pence, the vice president, or John Bolton, the national security adviser, “could articulate why the President was determined to withdraw, beyond his campaign promises”, Sir Kim added.

Under the terms of the agreement – still supported by Britain, France and Germany – international sanctions on Iran were eased in return for Tehran accepting curbs on its nuclear programme.

In a second cable sent later that day, the former ambassador reportedly wrote that “following a typically hyperbolic statement on the nature of the ‘murderous’ Iranian regime, Mr Trump signed a presidential memorandum to start the process of reinstating US nuclear sanctions”.

Sir Kim resigned from his role on Wednesday after leaked documents published a week ago by The Mail on Sunday revealed he had described Mr Trump’s administration as “dysfunctional” and “inept”.

The president lashed out at the former ambassador in a string of tweets, saying Washington would “no longer deal” with him, and that he was “not liked or well thought of” within the country.

Sir Kim quit his post, saying his job had become “impossible” after Mr Trump’s tirade against him.

It is believed he made the decision to resign while watching Tuesday’s televised Tory leadership debate, during which Mr Johnson refused to rule out replacing him.