Europe Can No Longer Rely on US to Protect It

As European countries failed to prevent US President Donald Trump from pulling Washington out of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the tension between Iran and the US escalates.

"It is no longer such that the United States simply protects us, but Europe must take its destiny in its own hands, that's the task of the future," Chancellor Angela Merkel said Thursday after US President Donald Trump announced his withdrawal from the Iranian nuclear deal.

Merkel's point of view on the issue echoes the earlier statement of the President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker, who noted on Thursday that Washington "had lost vigor, and because of it, in the long term, influence", suggesting that Europe should take over the US' role as global leader.

Merkel had vowed Wednesday that Germany, France and Britain will "do everything" to ensure that Tehran remains in the 2015 nuclear deal.

"We will remain committed to this agreement and will do everything to ensure that Iran complies with the deal," Merkel said, a day after US President Donald Trump announced that Washington pulled out of the agreement and will re-impose economic sanctions on Tehran.

She added that Berlin had made the decision jointly with Paris and London.
  (FNA)
 10/5/18