Donald Trump has just levelled a new punitive measure against Iran, which US allies have celebrated as a bold step. But this latest act of sabre-rattling is pure hypocrisy, as a look at US relations with other countries in the region shows.
Telling timing, shocking hypocrisy
On 8 April, Trump announced that the US will designate Iran’s army – the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) – a “foreign terrorist organization”. He claimed that “the IRGC actively participates in, finances, and promotes terrorism as a tool of statecraft”. The move comes as the one-year anniversary of his decision to pull out of the internationally-agreed nuclear deal with Iran approaches. Trump announced Washington’s unilateral withdrawal from the Obama-era agreement – in violation of international law – in May 2018 in spite of overwhelming opposition from Western European allies.
