President Donald Trump’s unilateral decision to abrogate the Iran nuclear deal is not only a threat to peace in the Middle East. It also puts the close relationship between the US and its allies in Europe, which has held strong through two world wars, as well as the cold war and its tumultuous aftermath, in serious jeopardy.
On Tuesday Mr Trump described the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which saw Iran mothball its nuclear programme in return for sanctions relief, as “a horrible one-sided deal that should have never, ever been made”.
It was ineffective, he said, because it imposes only “very weak limits” on Tehran’s nuclear activity. “Even if Iran fully complies, the regime can still be on the verge of a nuclear breakout in just a short period of time.”