Iran remains a barrier between the US and Europe

The United States and Europe have failed to make up their differences over Iran and the country’s potential for developing nuclear weapons. It is a sad reflection of the current relationship between the US and Europe that the European nations which signed the historic July 2015 nuclear deal with Iran are still doing everything they can to trade with Tehran to honour the agreement which the American administration withdrew from last year. The US and Europe share one of the most important diplomatic, cultural and military alliances on the planet. Yet on Iran the two continents are as far apart as ever. Europe remains determined to stick to the 2015 agreement because they are convinced it has prevented Iran from pursuing nuclear weapons. As part of the deal, the signatories – the US. China, Russia, Britain, France, Germany and the European Union - were supposed to start lifting economic sanctions against Iran. After the US announced it was opting out of the deal last year, European leaders said they would continue to honour the agreement and set up a mechanism under which Europe could trade with Iran without being penalised by Washington. European countries are still pursuing that objective today. The big question is this: can Tehran be trusted to give up its suspected nuclear weapons ambition? Will the continuing trade deals with Europe be enough to keep the 2015 deal alive, or will action by the US against European companies doing business with Iran eventually kill the deal altogether? The US intelligence community concluded in its latest report published recently that there was no sign of Iran trying secretly to develop a nuclear weapons programme. Trump dismissed this as child-like naivety but actually it was a statement of fact. There IS no satellite evidence of a clandestine nuclear programme underway in Iran. However, two of the most prominent figures in Washington remain adamantly opposed to the 2015 nuclear deal and have in the past accused Iran of cheating. Mike Pompeo, secretary of state, and John Bolton, national security adviser, both support Trump in their hostility towards the Iranian regime. So the split between the US and Europe over Iran is never going to be resolved. The US will continue to do its best to destroy the deal and Europe will continue to try and thwart Trump. So much for the Tran-Atlantic alliance.