EU/IRAN/MIKE POMPEO/NUCLEAR/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT/TRUMP PEOPLE: “John R. Bolton, the national security adviser, said on Sunday [5-13-18] that European officials should have known that President Trump would withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal, despite months of negotiations to salvage the accord that they believed had brought them close to satisfying the president’s demands…Mr. Bolton’s remarks could further exasperate the Europeans, who expressed disappointment when Mr. Trump abandoned the deal last week. They had dedicated top diplomats to the negotiations and believed that they had nearly worked out the specific fixes Mr. Trump had insisted on in a speech in January to remain in the agreement. As recently as May 4, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had told his European counterparts that if he could win a few more days for negotiations, he believed that there was a chance that the two sides could come to an agreement on the last sticking point. In his confirmation hearings, Mr. Pompeo had said he supported a fix…The question of whether the Europeans believe Mr. Trump when he says he wants a new, more comprehensive nuclear deal is not academic. They must soon choose whether to fight Mr. Trump’s decision to reimpose sanctions on Iran or accede to it, a decision that will help determine the success of the American strategy to again isolate Iran. And they must decide whether to engage in negotiations with the Americans on a new deal with Iran.”
-Gardiner Harris, “Europeans Should Have Known Trump Would Abandon Iran Deal, Bolton Says,” The New York Times online, May 13, 2018