Calling for calm in Persian Gulf as US-Iran tensions rachet up

IT is no secret that the majority of America's military partners were opposed to the 2018 decision by President Donald Trump to withdraw the United States from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), also known as the Iran nuclear deal.

Under the pact - reached between Iran and the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council plus Germany in 2015 - the Iranians agreed to freeze their nuclear military programme for 15 years in exchange for a gradual elimination of economic sanctions on their country. The deal - negotiated by the administration of former president Barack Obama - was not cons…