The effect of US sanctions on Iran was global – and a global effort must end them

A coordinated move by the US, UK and EU to strengthen the nuclear agreement could pave the way to reducing tensions

For nearly three years, the fate of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal has hung precariously in the balance. The Trump administration withdrew from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) - to use its official name - in 2018, arguing that a policy of economic coercion, dubbed maximum pressure", would deliver an improved agreement. But all it achieved was the hollowing out of the existing one. Europe, which has played a key role in preventing the JCPOA's total collapse, now must seize the opportunity to help revive and even strengthen it.

The JCPOA's original bargain was straightforward: limiting and monitoring what the international community viewed as the most concerning aspect of Iranian policy - the proliferation risks of its nuclear programme - and in return delivering relief from international sanctions built up over years.