Many have naturally predicted that the first two things to go following the Soleimani assassination will be American troops from Iraq and the 2015 Iran nuclear deal. Indeed Iran this weekend declared that its conformity to any remaining aspects to the deal will go out the window.

And in confirmation of Tehran's Sunday "no limits" declaration that it will fully blow past uranium enrichment limits, German foreign minister Heiko Maas warned on Monday the killing of Soleimani marks the "first step towards the end" of the nuclear deal.

“What was announced is not in line with the nuclear agreement... [the situation] has not got easier, and this could be the first step towards the end of this agreement, which would be a big loss," Maas told German public radio station Deutschlanfunk. “We will now weigh this up very, very responsibly,” he added.

File image via YNet News

Meanwhile the European signatories to the 2015 JCPOA, which have consistently attempted to salvage the deal since the US withdrew in May 2018, are urging Tehran to come back to its commitments. Britain, France, and Germany are demanding that Iran reverse the countermeasures adopted since the Trump administration's withdrawal from the deal.

A joint statement from Boris Johnson, Emmanuel Macron, and Angela Merkel issued a joint statement on Monday calling for the Islamic Republic to refrain from further “proliferation” and “to reverse all measures inconsistent with the JCPOA.”

However, as Bloomberg notes, "The statement was noteworthy for not mentioning Trump or the U.S. action explicitly."

The Europeans seem to be largely paralyzed in the wake of the unexpected and brazen US action to take out Iran's most important military general.

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas during a prior visit to Iran, file image.

Bloomberg writes further:

What is clear is that it has taken more than 48 hours for Macron, the U.K.’s Boris Johnson and Germany’s Angela Merkel to issue a common stance calling for a reduction of tensions -- showing they may be struggling to hold a united front.

Commenting on the European ambivalence Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told Fox News on Sunday: “Frankly, the Europeans haven’t been as helpful as I wish that they could be.”

The US top diplomat added: “The Brits, the French, the Germans all need to understand that what we did, what the Americans did, saved lives in Europe as well.”