The Trump Administration is once again setting up an ultimatum for the US staying in the P5+1 nuclear deal with Iran, this time pushing on EU participants to commit to the idea of changing the deal by May, the next time Trump could withdraw sanctions relief.
President Trump has long opposed the Iran deal, and demands massive changes to the already signed pact, despite everyone else agreeing the terms are final and no renegotiation is needed. US officials suggest the only way to keep them on board is to commit to unspecified future changes.
But in doing so, the Europeans would almost certainly be setting the stage for the deal’s outright collapse, as Iran has rejected renegotiation, and the US has set out changes that would almost certainly be non-starters for Iran.
In agreeing even to the idea the deal needs changing, the EU would be seen supporting the US push for unreasonable changes, and so long as the US keeps resisting any compromise, as they surely will, the EU commitment would oblige them to keep bringing such ideas to the table.