Europe finds itself at a critical juncture after the Trump administration's unconscionable decision to unilaterally withdraw from the 2015 Iran nuclear agreement, involving the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany. Trump's decision to withdraw from the agreement had nothing to do with its lack of success or any breach by Tehran; on the contrary the Iranians, according to the IAEA, had been operating in full accordance with their obligations under the agreement — an agreement which by any objective measure had proved eminently successful in ensuring its nuclear industry was solely devoted to the development of energy not weapons.
Thus Trump's decision was taken not in the interests of peace or stability in the Middle East, but instead at the behest of a Washington neocon establishment and Washington's regional allies, Israel and Saudi Arabia, whose enmity towards Iran is elemental.
Meanwhile for France, Germany and the UK, faced now with the prospect of its companies falling prey to US sanctions for daring to continue operating in Iran, the time has come to re-evaluate the much-vaunted Transatlantic Alliance.
In truth, it is not and never has been an alliance between equal partners and friends, despite the official wrapping. In truth, it has been and remains a relationship between a US imperial hegemon and its European satellites.
Writer and Peace Researcher Jan Oberg joins us to explore, in detail, the ramifications of the crisis surrounding the Iran deal, both in terms of what it portends for Iran and Europe when it comes to its relations with the United States.
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