Today foreign ministers from the UK, France & Germany are to meet in Brussels w/ the foreign minister of Iran a week after Trump pulled the US from the Iran nuclear deal. This may be Europe's moment of truth. All three European signatories to the Iran deal-along w/ Russia & China-said they would honor the deal even without the US. We'll see.

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Signers to the 2015 Iran nuclear deal

Today foreign ministers from the UK, France and Germany are to meet Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Zarif in Brussels exactly a week after Trump pulled the US from the Iran nuclear deal. This after Trump snubbed the appeals of French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson who met separately with Trump in late April pleading with him to keep the US from reneging on the deal.

Well this may be Europe's moment of truth particularly with the concomitant threats coming from the Trump crowd set to impose sanctions on European companies continuing to do business with Iran.

These threats by the US need to be seen by the Europeans for what they are. The US could care less about Europe. It's do as we say or else. We reign and you Europeans are vassals.

If the Europeans have any notions of being independent of US hegemony it's absolutely essential for the three European signatories to the Iran deal do what's best in their economic interest and not surrender to US threats.

All three countries being signatories to the Iran nuclear deal-along with Russia and China-have said they will continue to honor the deal even without the US.

We'll see.

Though the US has threatened European companies in Germany, France, Austria, Netherlands doing business with Russia's Gazprom over the building of Nord Stream II-the natural gas pipeline being built under the Baltic Sea from Russia into Germany-strong resistance has come from the Europeans to what they see as US interference into strictly European economic affairs. Yet despite the US threats the project has kept going due for completion by the end of 2019. So Europe has been able to withstand US pressure at times but a break with the US over the Iran nuclear deal may be the real test of Europe standing up to the US.

As we know the Iran nuclear deal was an internationally agreed upon pact that shouldn't be broken if all parties adhere to it. IAEA inspectors have confirmed Iran has been in full compliance. It's the US with Trump in particular that's unnecessarily created the rift with Iran.

Last year the US unilaterally imposed new sanctions on Iran over its development of conventional missiles. Iran's testing of these missiles was not part of the nuclear deal. It was just something Trump used as the basis for rejecting the deal . Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as well as Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman also joined the Trump bandwagon obsessed as they are with Shiite Iran.

Now Trump in league with this unholy alliance of Netanyahu and bin Salman, there's the war mongering neo-con John Bolton as the "Donald's" national security advisor, Mike Pompeo as Secretary of State along with a Congress beholden as they are to the Israeli lobby, Iran is surely in the crosshairs for a potentially catastrophic new war.

But and it's big but, if Germany, France and Britain uphold the nuclear deal with Iran fending off US threats of sanctions against them while continuing to do business with Iran a serious fissure in the Atlantic Alliance could very well develop. Then that would put Europe fully in tune with Russia and China on the Iran nuclear deal. Their alliance on the deal could prevent the US , Israel and Saudi Arabia from initiating a world catastrophe which a US led war on Iran would surely bring about.

Let's hope today's meeting of foreign ministers in Brussels produces a favorable outcome for continuing the Iran nuclear deal.

Authors Website: dglefc22733@aol.com

Authors Bio:
Retired. The author of "DECEIT AND EXCESS IN AMERICA, HOW THE MONEYED INTERESTS HAVE STOLEN AMERICA AND HOW WE CAN GET IT BACK", Authorhouse, 2009