With United States President Donald Trump due in Davos, Switzerland on Friday at the World Economic Summit, his Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson, is in Europe too, talking to allies in London, Paris and Warsaw. In the British and French capitals, Tillerson is pushing changes to the Iran nuclear deal reached in 2015 between the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, Germany and the European Union, and the regime in Tehran over its nuclear programme.
President Trump has made it clear he opposes the deal. While the other signatories say it is not possible to change it now, Secretary of State Tillerson is mandated by the White House to rewrite a deal that the president has called “the worst deal ever”.
What is clear now is that Iran has failed to live up to the spirit of the deal. While it was eagerly courting the permanent members of the UNSC to reach the deal, it was also aiding, arming and providing technical support to Al Houthi rebels in Yemen. Indeed, Iran’s actions there are flying in the face of the UN, with an international coalition led by Saudi Arabia — and in which the UAE is proud to play its part — intervening in Yemen with the backing of resolutions against Al Houthi usurpers.
The Iran nuclear deal is seriously flawed, and Iran signed it in bad faith. How else could the Tehran regime get away with exporting ballistic missile technology to its minions — weapons that have be fired at Saudi cities and population centres?
