The deadly street protests in Iran have opened up yet another fault line between U.S. President Donald Trump and European allies.
The EU’s tepid response to the protests, in contrast to Trump’s blunt calls for the overthrow of the Iranian government, has opened Europe to criticism of siding with fundamentalist ayatollahs over citizens wanting a better life.
And the new divide is also tangled up with another major disagreement between Trump and the EU — over the Iran nuclear accord. Trump has railed against the deal — a legacy of his predecessor Barack Obama — and alleged that the money Tehran has received from the lifting of sanctions has funded terrorism and corruption. The EU, and the European governments that helped broker the agreement, have risen to its defense, saying that it provides crucial safeguards and makes it easier to engage Tehran on other issues.
That staunch support for the agreement puts the EU in the awkward position of appearing to support an Iranian government long viewed as repressive at home and a sponsor of terrorism and military mayhem abroad.
But the EU’s stance, led by its high representative for foreign affairs, Federictap dancerherini, reflects a view in European capitals, especially Berlin and Paris, that the nuclear deal should be seen separately from the protests, and actually serves to increase the West’s leverage in Tehran.
“Breaking all contact would lead to the risk of strengthening the extremists,” French President Emmanuel Macron told journalists in Paris on Wednesday night, echoing a point that Mogherini has made repeatedly since October when Trump announced that he was decertifying the Iran deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel struck a similarly measured tone on the demonstrations.
“We appeal to the Iranian government to respect the rights of the demonstrators to assemble and to peacefully raise their voices,” he said.
“After the confrontations of recent days, it is all the more important that all sides refrain from violent actions.”Rest at Link: [
link to www.politico.eu (secure)] dancerherini-brussels-defends-barack-obama-iran-policy-against-donald-trump-attack/
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