Mr Johnson made the comment in his 2009 column for the Telegraph as the people of Iran protested presidential elections in the country that had been marred by suspicion of corruption and irregularity. While anger in the country grew, Mr Johnson argued that despite the furore, a consolation was that the demonstrations represented “the nearest Iran has come, in our lifetimes, to a true brush with democracy”.
But he also said that this couldn’t have happened had 2008 US Presidential candidate, John McCain, had taken the White House in 2008, given that he had “entertained American journalists by singing, to a Beach Boys’ tune: “Bomb, bomb, bomb, bomb, bomb Iran.”
Mr Johnson concluded that “If you want a population to abandon a hardline leadership, you don’t threaten them with nuclear war”.
While President Trump has not explicitly threatened nuclear action, many experts fear the combination of hostile rhetoric and the volatile nature of both the US and Iranian governments could cause a deadly conflict.
Professor in nuclear arms control, Jeffrey Lewis, told Business Insider last week: “In any other circumstance, I would have argued that the norm against using nuclear weapons is so strong there’s no chance that a president would use a nuclear weapon.
“At the end of the day, though, it’s just a norm. And this president delights in smashing norms.”
Mr Trump has used an extremely threatening tone when discussing the issue of Iran, warning last week that the US would target 52 cultural sites in the country should Tehran retaliate to the killing of its general Qassem Soleimani.
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Meanwhile, Prime Minister Johnson has urged Iran President Hassan Rouhani to end military action.
A Downing Street spokesman said last week: “They discussed the situation in the region following the death of Qassem Suleimani and the prime minister called for an end to hostilities.”
But after Iran accidentally shot down a Ukranian passenger plane last Wednesday, killing 176 people, Mr Johnson called for a “comprehensive, transparent, and independent international investigation” into the disaster.