Reality bites for Trump on Iran and China policies

The US president has been advised that tearing up the nuclear agreement with Iran isn't a viable option, and has been facing pressure against imposing punishing steel tariffs on China

Published Wed, Jul 19, 2017 · 09:50 PM

Donald Trump

Washington

TWO of the leading targets for Candidate Donald Trump's attacks during the 2016 presidential campaign were Iran and China, and by extension, US policy towards them.

Hence then-president Barack Obama's Iran strategy, and in particular, the 2015 nuclear agreement between Teheran and Washington under which Iran limited its nuclear programme in exchange for the lifting of several international sanctions on it, became a symbol of the failure of US policy in the Middle East.

Candidate Trump lashed out at Mr Obama for supposedly coddling the Ayatollahs in Teheran and for ending up signing a "bad" nuclear deal. …