- By Shubham Bajpai
- Tue, 17 Mar 2026 09:51 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
British national security advisor, Jonathan Powell, attended the last talks between Iran and the US, and found Tehran's offer on nuclear programme enough for de-escalation, according to a report by The Guardian.
According to the report, the UK saw no compelling evidence either of an imminent threat from an Iranian attack on European cities or of Iran securing nuclear weapons.
Citing sources, the report added that the deal presented by Tehran was "surprising" and that progress made in Geneva was enough to avoid war, just a couple of days before the US and Israel launched strikes on Iran.
"The UK team were surprised by what the Iranians put on the table," a former official was quoted by The Guardian as saying. "It was not a complete deal, but it was progress and was unlikely to be the Iranians’ final offer. The British team expected the next round of negotiations to go ahead on the basis of the progress in Geneva", he added.
The report also raised concerns over the expertise of US teams, which included Donald Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff. The duo had not brought a technical team from the US and used Rafael Grossi, the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), as a technical expert.
The United States Director of the National Counterterrorism Centre, Joe Kent, on Tuesday stepped down, raising similar concerns. He shared his resignation letter to Trump on social media, saying that there was no imminent threat to the nation from Iran.
He also made bold allegations against the Trump administration, saying that the war was started under Israeli pressure. "I cannot in good conscience support the ongoing war in Iran. Iran posed no imminent threat to our nation, and it is clear that we started this war due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby," Kent added.