Rather than try to placate the Trump administration by re-opening discussions on an international agreement that has already proved its worth, the EU should make common cause with China and Russia and push back diplomatically to keep the Iran nuclear deal intact. The author argues that the EU would do well to buttress the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) with additional arrangements on arms control and regional security. At the same time, it should prepare to protect investors and economic operators against the extra-territorial effect of new US sanctions.

In this CEPS Policy Brief, Steven Blockmans sets out a number of policy recommendations for the strategic posture, contingency planning and flanking security arrangements that could provide impetus for wider international cooperation on this highly sensitive issue.

Steven Blockmans is Head of EU Foreign Policy at CEPS and Professor of EU Law and Governance at the University of Amsterdam.

No. of pages: 9