While most of the lead-up to the NATO summit this week in Brussels has centered around President Trump pushing military spending, and potentially being less hostile toward Russia than the other nations prefer, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has arrived in Brussels with a mission focused heavily on Iran.
The US withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal earlier this year. No other NATO nations followed suit, but the US has been making the rounds, pressuring nations worldwide to follow the new US sanctions.
Pompeo will be having sideline meetings with leaders of the various NATO nations during the summit, trying to sell them on the need to “pressure Iran.” This is going to be a very tough sell, especially for the European NATO members.
Britain, France, and Germany are all parties to the P5+1 nuclear deal, and the European Union has made resolutions calling on the entire union to support the deal, and resist US sanctions. Pompeo has a tall order to try to change their minds.
This is especially true because the US never really had much justification for withdrawing from the nuclear deal in the first place, beyond President Trump personally having problems with it. Pompeo’s primary ammunition in the talks will be assurances that other nations, mostly Saudi Arabia, will replace Iran’s oil exports on the market.
There are reasons to doubt the Saudis’ ability, or even inclination, to do this, and for the European nations, it’s likely very much beside the point in the argument for sanctions. If the argument is for unity on the Iran issue, those nations may point out they’ve already reached a consensus weeks ago, and it was on preserving the deal, with or without the US.
This Iran issue is LARGE, a true watershed event in the reversal of US world hegemony deriving from US banking control, as many nations work out alternatives to the petrodollar for purchasing Iran oil. The Persians will easily outsmart hackers like Pompeo.
I sure hope that the Europeans do not fold on this issue…..
poor Iran, the US has tortured these people, literally, first under the Shah, and then with sanctions and secret operations for decades and decades…
They’ll fold, like they always do before their liege–the US.
But, but—Trump is the peace President?
JR sure thinks so. And who better to bring peace to the world than our own Pompous Maximus working in cahoots with the Bibster.
So when does “good cop” Trump intervene? Isn’t that why he hired Pompeo? Or is this just me suffering from TDS?
The JCPOA was also endorsed by the whole UN, and there was NO valid reason for the US pullout. To encourage the Saudis to have more power while pretending that NATO countries have to spend more on “defense” against Russia?? or any other designated enemy the USA has chosen is likely to add to more conflict, especially since the USA’s policy to Israel is even worse than those of previous POTUS.
Secretary pompeo,
Why do you sanction Iran ?
Answer: because israel told me to.
pompeo needs to make the rounds of diet products. lets see,russia ,we hate, iran we hate, russia we hate ,iran we hate… which will they end up hating more? these clowns need to get out and get real jobs. i suggest hard labor.