The European Union does not want to follow the US in punishing Iran while Tehran has many options to retaliate against Washington’s sanctions decision.
When US President Donald Trump announced his withdrawal from the nuclear agreement with Iran two weeks ago, Mr. Trump did not offer any alternative strategy to prevent the Islamic Republic from continuing to pursue its weapons development program.
According to analysts, it is difficult for the US to subdue Iran through sanctions.
`We will apply unprecedented economic pressure on the Iranian government. The leadership in Tehran cannot know how serious we are,` US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in his first policy speech.
`Iran will never be able to dominate the Middle East,` Mr. Pompeo said, while also stating 12 conditions Washington sets for any `new agreement` with Tehran.
Sanctioning Iran, the US upsets the EU
The policy that Secretary of State Pompeo introduced seems to not only make the already difficult relationship between the US and Iran more complicated, but could also increase tensions in the Middle East between the US and its European allies.
Remember, the Trump administration spent months negotiating with partners in the European Union about the possibility of `fixing` the terms of the nuclear agreement, which restrained Iran from producing nuclear materials.
However, in his speech on May 21, Mr. Pompeo declared that the US would “not renegotiate [the nuclear agreement]”.
Mr. Trump and his colleagues act with confidence that sanctions on Iran will be as effective as in the past.
This time, Europe has reaffirmed its commitment to the Iran nuclear deal as well as continued economic business with Iran.
European Union (EU) High Commissioner for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini declared: `There is no alternative to the nuclear agreement signed with Iran in 2015.`
“Enemy attack” from Iran?
In a statement on May 21, the US Secretary of State also issued a list of demands that Iran reverse its current policy, from completely stopping uranium enrichment and missile development to ending support for armed groups.
That is America’s request, but there is no reason to believe that Iran will surrender to the United States and give up the regional ambitions it has pursued for decades.
Secretary of State Pompeo said: `Mr. Ali Khamenei [Iran’s supreme spiritual leader – ND]… will not live forever.
Faced with the latest developments related to Secretary of State Pompeo’s statement on the US’s Iran policy, observers believe that the US’s new `attack` may push Iran’s current regime to incite communism.
Although Mr. Pompeo said that the Trump administration’s goal is a comprehensive agreement with Iran, it seems that the real goal the United States wants is to break the Iranian regime or force the country to continue pursuing its nuclear program.
What the world has witnessed through regime change in Iraq following US military involvement has shown why this is a terrible idea.
No one will believe that Iran will easily comply with the demands set forth by Mr. Pompeo.
According to Hung Cuong
VOV