Bolton, Trump’s national security adviser, has been a vocal opponent of the Iran nuclear deal [File: Scott M. Lieberman/AP]
A sustained effort by the administration of US President Donald Trump and its allies at home and the Middle East to cancel, or at least renegotiate, the Iran nuclear deal appears to have succeeded in flipping one major European country, France, to its side.
French President Emmanuel Macron of France said during a visit to the US this week that he hoped to “work on a new deal with Iran” following “frank discussions” with Trump.
The US president is a fierce critic of the historic 2015 pact, signed between Tehran and US, France, Russia, Germany, China, the UK and the European Union are signatories to the agreement.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani swiftly countered, saying: “You [Trump], along with the leader of some European country, are deciding for an agreement reached among seven parties. Who allowed you to do that?”
Iranian experts argue, however, that the real issue is not Tehran’s nuclear programme.
They say that even if you take it out of the picture, “Iran would still be demonised and made evil” by its regional adversaries – similar to what has been happening, they argue, since the 1979 revolution.
“The root causes of Israeli and Western animosity towards Iran has to do with its opposition to Western hegemony in the region and its support and sympathy with the Palestinian people,” said Mohammad Marandy, professor at the University of Tehran.
“Iran’s key foreign policy objectives since the 1979 revolution were its moral stance against the South African apartheid and its solidarity with the Palestinian people.”