EU Diplomats Warn US to Halt Threats Over Iran

Diplomats say bullying tactics won't achieve Trump's goals

Officials say that following Trump’s threat to impose auto tariffs on the EU if they didn’t make moves against Iran under the P5+1 nuclear deal, European diplomats contacted the State Department to lay down a hard line that this was the last time that was going to work.

More specifically, diplomats from Germany, France, and Britain warned that the US tactics are “completely unacceptable,” and that their bullying tactics would not help them marshal support against Iran.

The State Department was surprised by the firmness of the language, and passed it on to the White House. It was noted that the US dialed back pressure on the EU in the days that followed.

President Trump clearly wasn’t happy with not getting his way, and was reported complaining about the Europeans at the Davos economic forum, saying they are worse to do business with than the Chinese.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo also complained about the EU nations not being more loudly in favor of the US assassination of Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani. European officials, however, believed it was an “aimlessly aggressive” move by Trump, and lacked any concrete objective.

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.