Did Trump Just Make Iran More Popular?
By Robin Wright
By Robin Wright
On Monday, I sat in One U.N. Plaza,
the high-rise hotel across the street from the United Nations, and watched a
parade of European diplomats head into meetings with Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani.
Boris Johnson, the blond-mopped British foreign minister, sauntered through the
lobby in deep conversation with his delegation. The new French President,
Emmanuel Macron, led by a military officer wearing the distinctive stovepipe
kepi, and accompanied by a dozen aides and several photographers, scurried by
next. One by one, the Europeans came to confer with the leader of a country
that has been ostracized by the outside world, for decades, as a pariah. No
longer.
The outside world now
comes calling on Iran.
During his campaign
and since taking office, President Trump has targeted the Islamic Republic with
some of his most wrathful language. At his U.N. début, on Tuesday, he called
Iran “reckless” and a “corrupt dictatorship” on a “path of poverty, bloodshed,
and terror.” He has repeatedly implied that he wants to walk away from the Iran
nuclear deal that was negotiated by the world’s six major powers in 2015. As
required by Congress, the President must certify every ninety days that Iran is
complying with the deal. Trump has certified twice but has indicated that he
might change course in mid-October, which would undermine the most significant
(whether you like the terms or not) nonproliferation agreement in more than a
quarter century.
Trump’s tough talk
and sophomoric antics may have had the opposite effect of what he intended,
however. Across the board, the world’s other major powers, most of America’s
closest allies, and the vast majority of governments at the United Nations this
week made clear that they favor the deal. They are siding with Iran this time.
Read on...
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