The Prime Minister also called for the release of British-Iranian prisoner Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, 41, and said Tehran should stop the“detention and mistreatment” of other dual nationals too.
However, Mr Johnson said he remained committed to the nuclear deal with Tehran, despite President Donald Trump’s call for the UK to join the US in breaking away from the pact.
Downing Street said the PM “underlined the UK’s continued commitment” to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), aimed at limiting Iran’s nuclear ambitions. A spokesman said it is “the best arrangement currently available to deliver upon our goal of stopping Iran from having a nuclear weapon”.
Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab had talks with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in Washington and acknowledged that Iran’s breaches of the agreement were becoming “acute”.
A Downing Street spokesman said of Mr Johnson’s phone call: “They discussed the situation in the region following the death of Qassem Soleimani and the Prime Minister called for an end to hostilities.”
The Prime Minister told the Commons on Wednesday that the assassinated Iranian General Soleimani, killed by a US drone strike last week, “had the blood of British troops on his hands”.
Iran retaliated on Tuesday with missile attacks on military bases in Iraq hosting US troops and allied forces.
Yesterday, Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei met Esmail Qaani, the new head of the country’s elite military force at a ceremony in Tehran.
