An unexpected downside of Donald Trump’s presidency is the rare occasion on which he makes a wise call. Trump’s decision to withdraw from the Iran deal is wise and demonstrates a clear understanding of Tehran’s motives and tactics. The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) was Barack Obama’s signature foreign policy achievement, and it was sold as a tough but realistic settlement that would normalise relations with Iran while frustrating its desires to become a nuclear power.
The JCPOA was an attempt to translate Obama’s campaign idealism into hard policy. He won in 2008, in part, by promising a new way forward on American engagement with the world, one humbler and less hawkish than the Bush administration. As with so much of Obama’s legacy, the rhetoric was so lofty it never made its way back down to earth to be implemented. Barely had the ink on the agreement dried than Obama told the American people: ‘We have stopped the spread of nuclear weapons in this region’.
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