US-EU Controversy on Iranian Nuclear Program During Donald Trump's Presidency: Implications for Euro-Atlantic Unity
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.31558/2519-2949.2021.1.18Keywords:
Iran's nuclear program; policy of the administration of President Donald Trump; Joint Comprehensive Action Plan; EU position on the JCPOA; Euro-Atlantic solidarityAbstract
The article examines the relationship between the United States and the EU on issues related to the Iranian nuclear program and ways to solve it during the presidency of Donald Trump (2017 – 2021). It is analyzed to what extent the contradictions between the US administration of President Donald Trump and the EU countries over the nuclear agreement with Iran have shaken Euro-Atlantic solidarity. The difference between the approaches of the European Union and the United States toward Iran's nuclear program during the presidency of Trump is discussed. It is considered how both sides tried to overcome these contradictions and how they tried to find a common approach to solving the problem of Iran's nuclear program in the framework of Euro-Atlantic solidarity.
It has been shown that the main source of concern for both the United States and the European Union is not Iran's nuclear program only but also Iran's aggressive policy in the Middle East, and Tehran's progress in developing a space rocket program. The influence of the US Middle East Allies (Israel, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and other monarchies of the Arabian Peninsula) on the formation of Washington's position on Iran's nuclear program and on cooperation with the European Union on this issue has been studied. It has been found that the Donald Trump administration finds more in common with its Middle Eastern allies in pursuing a policy toward Iran than with the EU.
The consequences of radicalizing Iranian nuclear policy in connection with the assassinations of Iranian General Kasem Soleimani and nuclear physicist Mohsen Fakhrizade are considered. It was analyzed the prospects for Iran's acquisition of nuclear weapons or the return of Tehran to the nuclear agreement with the world's leading powers, which was signed by Iran in 2015 and which significantly limited Iran's nuclear program and reduced the chances of producing an Iranian atomic bomb. A comparative analysis of the US-EU response to Iran's latest steps to increase uranium enrichment, which could potentially bring Tehran closer to nuclear weapons, has been conducted. The consequences of President Trump's policy towards Iran for Euro-Atlantic unity are analyzed. Possible prospects for the development of US-EU cooperation in resolving the problem of Iran's nuclear program after the end of Trump's term are considered.
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