Boris Johnson and EU leaders have issued a last-minute call for Donald Trump not to bring down the Iran nuclear deal by reimposing economic sanctions.

The Foreign Secretary challenged the US president to name a “better solution” if he wanted to scrap the agreement while other EU figures said ending the deal would defy logic.

Mr Trump must decide whether to keep economic sanctions frozen against Iran – a corner stone of the 2015 deal – from today because of a series of rolling deadlines.

The US president is expected to continue to waive the sanctions, as allies hope he will, but could also bring in new financial punishments targeting Iran’s military.

The mixed approach comes as Mr Trump, a fierce critic of the 2015 deal, attempts to keep his political base happy while living up to the realities of diplomacy.

In a bid to sway Mr Trump to stick with a deal made by his predecessor Barack Obama, a handful of EU foreign ministers met in Brussels and called on him not to reapply economic sanctions.

Mr Johnson attended a press conference with Federica Mogherini, the EU foreign affairs chief, and the foreign ministers of France, Germany and Iran in a major show of support for the Joint Comprehensive Plan Of Action (JCPOA).