Again, the Europeans find themselves on the wrong side of history. The European insistence on making wrong decisions and adhering to them steadfastly, even when it's clear the cause is lost, is pathological.
In general, the Europeans have racked up enough "Iran hours" since the 1979 Islamic Revolution to know that the regime in Tehran doesn't seriously intend to give up the process of developing nuclear weapons or its attempts to expand its sphere of influence in the Middle East and become a regional superpower.
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The Europeans were also very well aware that "moderate" as well as extremist leaders will continue to control the Iranian population through terrorism and oppression. Still, they stuck to the 2015 nuclear deal as if it gave them sanctuary from reality. To say that the Europeans just wanted to ensure they got a fat slice of the Iranian economy once sanctions were removed is too simplistic. The Europeans like to play up their activity on behalf of human rights and democracy, but in hindsight, they haven't been able to avoid following tyrants and dictators, especially when they are wrapped in the holy aura of Islamism.
In the past two years, the Europeans have had enough chances to dump the Iran nuclear deal and stop playing the innocent and claiming that US President Donald Trump, not the ayatollahs, is the main problem. The aytollahs have never ceased to exploit the deal to promote their plans to take control of more parts of the Middle East and build a belligerent front as close as possible to Israel's borders.
Only now, after the ayatollahs refused to commit to stopping their ballistic missile program; fanned the fires of wars in Yemen, Iraq, and Syria; and repeatedly – and publicly – violated the 2015 deal; murdered thousands of protesters in Iran; and shot down a Ukrainian passenger aircraft "by mistake," are the Europeans waking up and seeking to hit the trigger mechanism of the agreement, which is one step before the total cancellation of the deal.
Still, they are declaring that they are doing it to save the deal, and hoping for a "diplomatic solution." Some will say, "better late than never." In this context, the Europeans must be held to account for having ignored reality for too long. It was a dangerous, even lethal, approach. They have claimed it was better to gain 10 years in which the Iranians might be persuaded to invest in their economy rather than in atomic bombs, in which the "moderates" might manage to change the face of the revolution through reforms and investment. None of that happened. The Iranians fooled the Europeans, and not for the first time.
No more time can be wasted. Iran is about to become a nuclear power. We cannot allow that to happen. If the Europeans want to save face and not be seen by history as "willing collaborators" with the Iranian blood regime, they need to join the US in applying draconian sanctions on Tehran and preparing for a military conflict. That kind of pressure is the only thing that can lead to a change within Iran that might possibly prevent war.
