A concerted international attempt to save the Iran nuclear deal from Donald Trump’s attempts to sabotage it is under way with officials from France, Germany and Britain due to meet their Iranian counterparts from Tehran next week. At the same time Russia and China, the two other signatories to the agreement, are holding talks with Iran to strengthen trade and political relations against punitive American measures.

The flurry of diplomatic activity began hours after Mr Trump declared that the US will renege from the JCPOA (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action) and impose new sanctions on Iran amid alarm that the move will undermine the global nuclear non-proliferation system.

There is said to be a widespread feeling among European governments that Mr Trump has chosen to ignore traditional Western allies in favour of Saudi-led Gulf States, which have pledged to buy billions of dollars worth of US arms, and the Israeli government of Benjamin Netanyahu, who is facing three police corruption investigations in his country. This, say ministers and officials, calls for a fundamental strategic rethink.

Emmanuel Macron telephoned the Iranian President Hassan Rouhani to discuss the groundwork for talks and announced that the two countries will be holding bilateral discussions. The French Foreign Minister, Jean-Yves Le Drian, who is due to meet his Tehran counterpart, Mohammed Zarif, said: “The American logic is an isolationist, protectionist and unilateral logic. This is a break with international commitment and France deeply regrets this decision. We will bring businesses together in the coming days to try and preserve them as much as possible from the US measures: this deal is not dead.”

The move came as foreign secretary Boris Johnson said Britain will not "walk away" from the Iran nuclear deal following the dramatic withdrawal of the US from the agreement.

He said the government continued to believe the agreement was "vital" to UK national security and had done its "utmost" to persuade Mr Trump not to abandon it, adding it was up to the US to spell out the way forward and he urged the administration not to take any action which would hinder the efforts of the other parties to make it work.

Iran parliament reacts after Trump's withdrawal from nuclear deal Show all 10 1 /10 Iran parliament reacts after Trump's withdrawal from nuclear deal Iran parliament reacts after Trump's withdrawal from nuclear deal Iranian MPs burnt a US flag in parliament after Donald Trump announced America's withdrawal from the nuclear deal. AFP/Islamic Consultative Assembly News Agency Iran parliament reacts after Trump's withdrawal from nuclear deal US President Donald Trump displays a presidential memorandum after announcing his intent to withdraw from the JCPOA Iran nuclear agreement in the Diplomatic Room at the White House. Reuters Iran parliament reacts after Trump's withdrawal from nuclear deal Some Iranian MPs reacted after Trumps decision by shouting 'death to America'. AFP/Islamic Consultative Assembly News Agency Iran parliament reacts after Trump's withdrawal from nuclear deal Iranian lawmakers prepare to burn two pieces of papers representing the US flag and the nuclear deal. AP Iran parliament reacts after Trump's withdrawal from nuclear deal Iran said it will hold talks with signatories to the nuclear deal after Trump's decision to withdraw from the accord, which it branded "psychological warfare". AFP/Islamic Consultative Assembly News Agency Iran parliament reacts after Trump's withdrawal from nuclear deal Several Iranian MPs stood chanting in the Tehran parliament. AFP/Islamic Consultative Assembly News Agency Iran parliament reacts after Trump's withdrawal from nuclear deal Iranian MPs burning a US flag AFP/Islamic Consultative Assembly News Agency Iran parliament reacts after Trump's withdrawal from nuclear deal President Hassan Rouhani addressed the nation in a televised speech in Tehran. He said he'd send his foreign minister to negotiate with countries remaining in the nuclear deal after Trump's decision to pull America from the deal, warning he otherwise would restart enriching uranium "in the next weeks." Iranian Presidency Office via AP Iran parliament reacts after Trump's withdrawal from nuclear deal Iran's press condemned Trump's withdrawal from a multi-party nuclear deal but was divided over whether Tehran should react with patience or withdraw itself. AFP Iran parliament reacts after Trump's withdrawal from nuclear deal Trump announced the US withdrawal from what he called the "defective" multinational nuclear deal with Iran, and said Washington would reinstate sanctions against the Islamic republic. AFP/Getty

"For as long as Iran abides by the agreement ... Then Britain will remain a party to the JCPOA. Britain has no intention of walking away," he said. "Instead we will co-operate with the other parties to ensure that while Iran continues to restrict its nuclear programme, then its people will benefit from sanctions relief in accordance with the central bargain of the deal."

Angela Merkel also expressed her “regret and concern” over Mr Trump’s actions and stressed that “Iran had stuck to its obligations under the agreement”. The German Chancellor continued: “We must not question the Iran deal, however we also need to talk about a broader deal that goes beyond that”. In Britain Theresa May reiterated that the agreement was “an important step forward in helping to keep the world safe”, acknowledging that she had failed to convince Mr Trump of this.

Jean-Claude Juncker, the EU Commission president, stated that Mr Trump has made it inevitable that Europe must assert its values. The US, he held, “no longer wants to co-operate with other parts of the world. At this point, we have to replace the United States, which as an international actor has lost vigour, and because of it, in the long term, influence.”

The EU is planning to ask for exemptions for its companies and financial institutions from American sanctions, although that is unlikely to happen. The French Foreign Minister, Bruno La Maire, the matter should not be allowed to rest there. “The international reach of US sanctions makes the US the economic policeman of the planet, that is not acceptable.”