Editorial | World needs a secure Middle East, not Trump destabilising Iran
- The US president has driven the Tehran nuclear deal to the brink of collapse and deployed a battle group to the region, spreading uncertainty to China and the global economy
Tehran’s nuclear ambitions prompted six world powers to join together in diplomatic efforts to tackle the threat they posed to Middle East stability. It took nearly a decade of difficult rounds of negotiations to reach the Iran nuclear deal in 2015, under which the international community lifted sanctions in return for Tehran reining in activities that raised fears of development of nuclear weapons.
The latter steps have undermined the continued support of the other five parties, China, Russia, Britain, France and Germany and severely damaged the Iranian economy, as oil exports have fallen and investors have shied away from the risk of punitive US sanctions.
This has deprived Iran of the economic pay-off for honouring its side of the bargain. Predictably, the regime has responded by reversing implementation of important commitments under the nuclear deal, injecting a new element of dangerous unpredictability into a region plagued with uncertainty and instability.
The nuclear deal may not be perfect or even comprehensive. It does nothing to inhibit Iran’s support for armed factions across the region or its ballistic missile programme. Nonetheless it achieved its core goal of suspending the nuclear programme and easing the threat of a regional arms race.