Eight years after Donald Trump tore up the Iran nuclear agreement and promised a better deal, the United States finds itself fighting a war against Iran while struggling to secure terms significantly stronger than the one it abandoned.
Trump withdrew from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) on 8 May 2018, calling it 'a horrible one-sided deal' and imposing a 'maximum pressure' sanctions campaign on Tehran. The strategy was premised on the belief that economic pain would force Iran to accept far more sweeping concessions on its nuclear programme, ballistic missiles, and regional conduct.
