ALMOST everybody claims to have foreseen Donald Trump’s decision, but when the thunderbolt came it was even more cacophonous than most people expected. Excoriating the nuclear bargain with Iran struck by his predecessor and five other leaders as a “horrible, one-sided deal”, the president finally declared on May 8th that he was pulling out. Henceforth, he promised, America would use its muscle to extract far bigger concessions from the Islamic Republic.
These would include an end to “terrorist activities” in the region and to the development of ballistic missiles. Faced with such a show of strength, Mr Trump predicted, Iran’s leaders “are going to want to make a new and lasting deal”.
There was little sign of any such desire in Tehran, where hawkish figures gloated that Mr Trump had confirmed their doubts about bargaining with the West, while relative moderates, such as President Hassan Rouhani, said there was only a small window of opportunity to save the agreement....Continue reading
Source: Middle East and Africa https://ift.tt/2rwGe2M
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