End of a global order

Europe once again finds itself at odds with America as a new round of sanctions imposed by Washington on Iran takes effect. These will target companies that continue to trade with Tehran with fines and other restrictions. Brussels has offered some legal protection to European companies that carry on but most of them are unlikely to take the risk.

These secondary sanctions follow Donald Trump’s decision to end the nuclear deal with Tehran signed by the world’s major powers in May. The EU fears Iran is more likely to develop nuclear weapons if it feels cornered.

However, Mr Trump – flush from his apparent success with North Korea – believes a tougher stand will lead to fresh talks that will improve on the deal brokered by Barack Obama. As he did with Pyongyang, he is backing up his demands with threats of a military response.

Not for the first time the US president is happy to break with a common international position in the belief that his way is the right way. Perhaps it is: Iran’s economy has been badly hit and growing political unrest might yet threaten the rule of the ayatollahs. Certainly, countries that fear Tehran’s expansionism, such as Israel and Saudi Arabia, welcome Mr Trump’s insistence that any new deal must cover both the nuclear programme and support for terrorism.

But the price to be paid for this is the gradual dismantling of what used to be a unified Western approach to the threat posed by countries like Iran and Russia. Bit by bit, Mr Trump’s “America First” policy is fracturing the global order that has existed since 1945, with far-reaching consequences for post-brexit Britain and the rest of the world.