US stance toward Iran on wrong side of history

A while back, the US president said his country would no longer act as the world's policeman. However, it seems this will be a habit the long-authoritarian Washington finds hard to kick. Certainly in terms of the long-arm jurisdiction it likes to apply on the assumption that by drawing up a domestic law it can dictate to everyone, everywhere, what they can and cannot do.

While the United States can introduce domestic legislation to prevent its own companies from doing business with anyone it dislikes, it has no legal grounds for applying that legislation to non-US entities.

If, based on their relations, the US' allies opt to voluntarily coordinate and side with the US on a certain matter, that is their decision, right or wrong. But no country is under any obligation to observe sanctions unilaterally imposed by the US. So while Washington's unilateral withdrawal from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal was in blatant disregard of its own international obligations, its latest attempt to deter the European Union from engaging with Teheran is an outrageous transgression.