False witness: How Europe profited from the Iran deal, then watched it burn under Trump

When the Iran nuclear deal was signed in 2015, it marked the culmination of years of painstaking negotiations involving the United States, France, the United Kingdom, Germany, the European Union, Russia, and China. They all hailed it as a landmark diplomatic achievement, one that served the interests of regional stability and global non-proliferation. It was also a show case of what multilateralism can do when given chance.

For Iran, the agreement was more than a technical accord; it was a diplomatic breakthrough that countered decades of being portrayed solely as a pariah state. After more than thirty years of advancing its nuclear knowledge, Iran had also mastered the art of negotiation, shedding the image of a nation adept only at “supporting terrorism,” spreading fear, and unrest.

Today, however, the Islamic Republic finds itself under unprovoked military aggression. This time from a regional hegemon, Israel, backed by a glaring green light and substantial military supplies from the US. In fact, President Donald Trump is reportedly preparing to order direct US military involvement in what has become campaign led by Israel; one that systematically targets not only Iran’s nuclear program but many of its key infrastructures built despite decades of suffocating sanctions. The irony is stark: Washington, once a signatory to the JCPOA and a self-proclaimed guardian of peace and a rules-based international order, is now complicit in, and actively participating in, an illegal military campaign against a sovereign state, despite having once pledged to resolve such tensions through diplomacy.

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European countries, and the EU as an institution, were deeply invested in the negotiations that produced the JCPOA, often working as hard as, if not harder than their American counterparts to secure the agreement. Yet today, as the crisis spirals toward its most perilous stage, Europe has been sidelined. The turning point came with President Trump’s unilateral decision to tear up the deal during his first term. Now, having returned to power with even more aggression, Trump is pursuing what amounts to a demand for Iran’s total capitulation, ideally after dismantling its most hard-won accomplishment: mastery of nuclear technology, a strategic capability traditionally monopolised by the world’s wealthiest and most militarised states.

The German Chancellor was strikingly frank, perhaps unintentionally, in exposing Western hypocrisy, including Germany’s own. He not only praised Israel for its bombardment of Iran but also openly supported the notion of forced regime change. He claimed that Israel is doing the “dirty work” for everyone else, adding, “we are also victims of this regime [Iran’s]” which he said “brought death and destruction to the world.” Regardless of what he was referring to in such charged atmosphere rife with accusations, it no longer matters what Iran actually did; she is already blamed for nearly every conflict and crisis worldwide.

French President Emmanuel Macron was somewhat more restrained than Germany’s Merz. “Those who believe that bombing from the outside can save a country despite itself and against itself have always been wrong,” he said, before going on to condemn the targeting of civilian areas and infrastructure as “absolutely intolerable,” and calling for a return to diplomacy. Yet none of the Western leaders—including Macron and Merz—dared to use the right words to describe Israel’s actions for what they are:  naked, illegal and unprovoked aggression. Only Moscow broke the diplomatic silence. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov described the Israeli strikes as “unprovoked military attacks… categorically unacceptable,” and they “violate the Charter of the United Nations and international law,” Mr Lavrov said. China, another signatory to the nuclear deal, similarly condemned the strikes as violations of Iran’s sovereignty, security, and territorial integrity.

Back in 2015 when the deal was concluded all these countries heaped praise on it. For example, then-German Chancellor Angela Merkel said, “We have never been so close to a deal preventing Iran from having nuclear weapons,” while France’s Macron declared, “Under no circumstances will Iran ever seek or possess any nuclear weapons.” The EU’s head at the time called the deal “a sign of hope for the entire world.” Today, her successor, the current EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Kaja Kallas—has shown enough courage to at least speak with Iran’s foreign minister, stating that “Only diplomacy can lead to a lasting solution. The EU is ready to support.”

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In Iran, hard-line factions who always opposed the agreement now feel vindicated. They continue to blame former President Mohammad Khatami for embracing what they saw as a naïve accord, despite the brief hope it offered for Iran’s reintegration into what the West calls the “international community”—a phrase that, to many, now rings hollow, crafted to mask hypocrisy and shield power from accountability in a world increasingly stripped of justice. What Tehran did not anticipate was that a major global power like the US could so openly renege on its own signature, simply because a new president had arrived with a different agenda and a dangerously simplistic view of an increasingly complex world.

When President Trump unilaterally withdrew the United States from the nuclear deal, nearly all other signatories, particularly the Europeans, voiced their dismay. German Chancellor Angela Merkel called it “a major success of diplomacy” and urged its preservation. French President Emmanuel Macron stressed that the deal was “essential for global security” and vowed to avoid escalation. UK Prime Minister Theresa May acknowledged it was “not perfect, but working,” reaffirming Britain’s commitment alongside France and Germany. EU foreign policy Chief Federica Mogherini declared, “we remain fully committed to the deal and to ensuring its full implementation.” European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said Europe would “stand firmly behind” the agreement. Also notable, Russian President Vladimir Putin warned that the US withdrawal “threatens international security and undermines trust in global agreements.”

Yet, despite their strong words, these countries took no effective action to deter President Trump when he withdrew the United States from the deal and reimposed sanctions on Iran. Almost all of them refused to recognise the US sanctions. Some, like France, even sought ways to bypass Trump’s sanctions without provoking him. Why? Simply because the agreements they have with Tehran serve their own interests and benefit their economies, as if they were saying to Iran, “Your trade is welcome, but stopping Israel is beyond our reach.”

Yet, as Iran comes under relentless bombardment, European powers appear helpless to defend the very agreement they once championed. Aside from a few hollow calls for de-escalation, most have fallen conspicuously silent. It is another telling failure of wealthy, powerful nations to uphold their own principles when it matters most; a silence no different from the one that has allowed Israel to carry out its war on Gaza unimpeded for over 20 months.

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The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Monitor.