European Powers Prepare to Scrap Dollar in Iran Trade as Disgust with ‘America First’ Policies Mount

The comments below are an edited and abridged synopsis of an article by Elliott Gabriel

While the White House’s anti-Iran campaign has tried to pressure America’s European allies, it may be backfiring. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov claims that Europe’s 3 major powers plan to continue trading with Iran without using the US dollar.

France, Germany and the UK will protect the interests of companies hoping to do business with Iran, a significant regional power with a market of around 80 million people.

Lavrov’s statement came as US President Trump said that the US would reinstate nuclear sanctions on Iran and the highest level of economic bans on the Islamic Republic.

Lavrov said the move was a violation of terms that made it possible to alleviate political and military tensions in the region. He said that Iran was fulfilling its obligations while Trump was destroying America’s end of the agreement.

Sanctions on Iran (automotive, gold) begin in August, while those on the country’s oil industry and central bank begin in November.

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas signaled the European exasperation with Trump’s policies, which have seen the US break from its transatlantic partners while pursuing an “egoistic policy of ‘America First’” in relation to the Paris Climate Agreements, Iran nuclear deal, and introduction of tariffs and other protectionist measures.

Highlighting the Trump administration’s new challenges to Europe, Maas said that the US has called European values into question, requiring a more assertive stance, and that the first test of this approach will be the nuclear agreement with Iran.