Uphill Battle as US Pushes EU to Adopt Anti-Iran Stance

Officials see conference as major test for Trump's Iran policy

A two-day conference later this week in Warsaw, Poland is being described by officials as a “make-or-break” moment for President Trump’s hostility toward Iran, as officials will be pushing hard for the European Union to match the US policy.

This is expected to center chiefly on demanding that the European nations all stop trading with Iran, even though the EU remains a party to the P5+1 nuclear deal with Iran, and Iran remains in compliance with the deal. Beyond that, officials are also emphasizing the general need for anti-Iran unity.

All of this boils down to the US reiterating demands they’ve failed to sell Europe on since last year, and a lot of the nations invited aren’t planning to attend at all. This makes the US selling the world on this change highly unlikely.

Efforts to push nations to stop trading with Iran continue internationally, with little to show for them. The Trump Administration is also planning a new push against Iraq, despite the new Iraqi government already having ruled out cutting off trade ties with their economically important neighbor.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.