America Is Nearly Alone on Iran Policy

The Trump administration continues to pursue an extremely confrontational policy toward Iran, and Washington finds itself increasingly alone in doing so.   Even most of the traditional European allies show little enthusiasm for the U.S. approach.  Indeed, many of them now are openly defying Washington’s wishes.  As I discuss in a recentNational Interest Onlinearticle, such resistance has been building for some time, but the administration ’s newest actions have intensified the opposition. NATO governments are especially uneasy about Washington ’s decision todeploy B-52 bombers, sendan additional 1,500 troops to the Middle East, and take other steps in response to Israeli-provided intelligence that Tehran was planning attacks on U.S. forces.   Washington’s withdrawal last year from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) regarding Tehran’s nuclear program already generated noticeable push-back from the other signatories to the agreement, including Britain, France, and Germany.  All three countries made it clear that theywould not follow the United States to re-impose economic sanctions on Tehran.   Indeed, they and other European Union (EU) members openly sought ways that they could cushion Iran (and their own businesses) from the worst effects of the U.S. action.The allies were annoyed again this year when the administration continued to insist that the European signatories withdraw from the JCPOA. Germany and other countriesflatly refused.   In April...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - Category: American Health Authors: Source Type: blogs