Sanctions on Iran unlikely to get what White House wants

As the US president indicated Saturday, he wants a deal with the Islamic Republic of Iran. Only he wants "a new, more comprehensive" one. One that suffices to not only freeze Iran's nuclear program, but also reduces that country's influence across the Middle East.

He seems confident that the full reinstatement of sanctions on Monday will achieve that, or he would not have posted a Game of Thrones-inspired poster, featuring himself, in the now-familiar chin-up determined-look pose, declaring "sanctions are coming".

That trademark confidence of his positive thinking has no doubt been bolstered by the success of pressuring Mexico and Canada into renegotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement and transforming it into what is now the more White House acceptable United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement.

And particularly the outcome of the "extreme pressure" exerted on the Democratic Republic of Korea, which his administration seemingly expects will work similar magic on Teheran.

Yet Washington would be seriously miscalculating if it assumes the kind of deal it seeks will materialize easily. It is certainly not just because Teheran will not back off. Iran is a lot different from the DPRK, thanks to its greater capabilities, resources and influence in the region.

Despite Trump's animosity to the 2015 agreement, which he called "defective at its core", whose "decaying and rotten structure""cannot prevent an Iranian nuclear bomb", all the other signatories find it desirable and want to safeguard it.

China and Russia are firmly for it. And France, Germany, the United Kingdom and the European Union have issued a joint statement, announcing they "deeply regret" Trump's decision, reiterating their continued commitment to the deal.

In spite of Washington's allegation that Teheran is violating the agreement, United Nations inspectors stand firmly by their conclusion that it is abiding by the agreement.

The conspicuous lack of international solidarity on this issue, combined with the moral weakness of the US argument, will no doubt undermine its "extreme pressure" tactic.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has demanded Teheran to withdraw from Syria, end its support to Hezbollah and Hamas, as well as Huthi rebels in Yemen. Such demands have nothing to do with a nuclear agreement.

The world was united behind sanctions against Iran in 2012. But the Trump administration is trying to get others to help it get what it wants. Having made clear it is only acting in its own interests it is hypocritical to call on others to do the same.