RECKLESS. That word perhaps best describes the US president’s approach regarding the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, as the Iran nuclear deal is formally called.

Donald Trump decided to not sign off on the certification confirming that Iran is abiding by the deal, despite near universal agreement that Tehran was indeed honouring its commitments. Using nasty adjectives for Iran, the US leader has now sent the deal to Congress, threatening he could undo the agreement at any time.

What had been hailed as a triumph of multilateral diplomacy is being undone by unilateral arrogance. The other four permanent UN Security Council members, as well as Germany, who signed the deal with Iran, are in favour of maintaining it, while the International Atomic Energy Agency chief and the EU’s representative for foreign affairs have both agreed that Tehran is complying with the accord.

Only Israel and Saudi Arabia — that have their own bone to pick with Iran — applauded Mr Trump’s bluster. In fact, very little of his rhetoric on Friday was about the deal itself; instead, the US president singled out Iran for “sponsoring terrorism” and called for new sanctions against Tehran. It appears as if the US president is looking to provoke the Islamic Republic into a confrontation by any means necessary.

Mr Trump’s actions have an eerie similarity to the course taken in the run-up to the Iraqi invasion in 2003. Then, the US, led by George W. Bush, talked of Saddam Hussein’s elusive weapons of mass destruction. The result of that misadventure has been a broken Iraq, and the rise of extremist groups in the region.

Where nuclear activities are concerned, nearly all major stakeholders agree that Iran is abiding by the deal. However, for the US to single out Iran’s other activities in the region, specifically the actions of the Pasdaran, is ironic — no hands are clean where the Middle East is concerned. Many would say that the US has taken the first step towards a new, violent confrontation with Iran.

It is hoped that better sense prevails within the US establishment so that the deal is not scuttled. Washington’s foreign allies, particularly in Europe, must also clearly communicate to the White House that the nuclear pact should not be tinkered with. Should the deal be undone, a harsh reaction from Tehran can be expected, opening a new front in the battered Middle East.

Published in Dawn, October 15th, 2017