Europe Can’t Keep Coddling Iran

The European Union is trying to have it both ways on U.S. sanctions against Iran. It voices solidarity with the Trump administration’s concerns about the Islamic Republic’s rising threat to stability in the Middle East — most recently by expressing alarm at Iran’s ballistic-missile program and other “unacceptable behavior.” At the same time, EU leaders condone efforts by their member countries to skirt U.S. restrictions — as if to reassure the Iranian regime that trade can continue despite the U.S. decision to pull out of the 2015 nuclear deal.

Now, Germany, France and the U.K. have gone so far as to create a special purpose vehicle for trade with Iran that’s clearly designed to get around U.S. sanctions.