In his address to the UN General Assembly, President Trump declared all the world’s nations to have a duty to cut ties with Iran, saying “no responsible government should subsidize Iran’s bloodlust,” adding that sanctions will continue to be tightened.



At the same time, Trump made clear he saw a path to peace for Iran, and that “only the most courageous can choose peace.” This echoes Trump’s long-standing interest in talks, but reluctance to ease any sanctions.



France and Germany appeared to be backing Trump’s position on the matter, however, saying Iran needs to be willing to have “a frank and demanding discussion.” They added Iranian interest in sanctions relief was “unrealistic.”



That’s likely to be a big source of tensions within the nuclear deal, as both France and Germany are parties to the deal and obliged to deliver sanctions relief to Iran, and Iran has been faulting both for failing to deliver.





Author: Jason Ditz Jason Ditz is news editor of Antiwar.com. View all posts by Jason Ditz