A Trump U-turn on Iran will raise trans- Atlantic tensions

DONALD Trump is expected to announce this week whether he will certify Iran as complying with the terms of its nuclear agreement with the West, which he has called the "worst deal ever". With growing signs that he will seek to torpedo the agreement, world leaders are engaging in frenetic diplomatic fire-fighting to try to influence his decision.

While another Trump U-turn certainly cannot be ruled out, odds are growing that he will refuse continued certification. He appears deeply unhappy with the deal, and has already put Tehran "on notice", after its ballistic missile tests, by signing into law in August new sanctions legislation in response to those actions. If he decertifies the agreement, Congress would have 60 days to consider re-imposing US sanctions phased out since 2015.

With global geopolitical gaps growing over this issue, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has said that Tehran might not itself pull out of the agreement if the other signatories (China, Russia, the United Kingdom, France, and Germany) remain committed to its terms.