The Iran Crisis Is Exposing a Far Deeper Conflict Between Trump and Europe

By Wyn Rees and Azriel Bermant, Published in Haaretz, 1 July 2019


The United States and Europe find themselves in a growing crisis with Iran. Tehran has just announced it has breached the threshold on nuclear enrichment imposed by the 2015 nuclear agreement.

The U.S. is funnelling military assets to the region following a series of incidents that have caused damage to oil tankers in the Persian Gulf. Although Iran has denied involvement, many suspect that Tehran was the instigator of these attacks.
Meanwhile, President Donald Trump has indicated that he does not want war - but others in his administration see things differently, and in any case crises have the potential to escalate inadvertently beyond the designs of rational policymaking.

As well as being a dangerous geopolitical moment, the crisis throws light on the growing divergences in transatlantic relations.

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