EU/IRAN/MIDDLE EAST/MILITARY/NUCLEAR/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Donald Trump is at a make-or-break moment with Iran. Tehran said Monday [6-17-19] it will soon take steps that likely violate the 2015 nuclear deal Trump himself abandoned, an announcement that came just days after the U.S. accused the Islamist-led country of sabotaging international oil tankers. The Pentagon announced Monday that it is sending 1,000 more troops to the Middle East for ‘defensive purposes.’ In Europe, meanwhile, leaders are starting to acknowledge that they may have to walk away from the nuclear agreement or devise a new one. The confluence of events will test Trump’s weak appetite for military action, his ability to rally allies he has frequently snubbed and his seriousness about actually striking the better deal with the Iranians that he once promised. Along the way, Trump must win over officials well-aware of his history of misstatements and uneasy about relying on U.S. intelligence when a potential new Middle East war could result. One test will come Tuesday, when Federica Mogherini, the European Union’s foreign policy chief, visits Washington to meet with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and other Trump aides.”
–Nahal Toosi, “Iran tests Trump’s desire to actually strike a new deal,” Politico, June 17, 2019 6:51 pm