Behold the future of Brexit Britain — a handkerchief in Washington’s pocket

One of the most famous and emphatic statements of Papal infallibility was made by St Augustine (Augustine of Hippo) when, in the context of the Pelegian heresy that engulfed the Catholic Church in the first decade of the 5th century, he proclaimed, ‘Roma locuta est, causa finita est’ (‘Rome has spoken, the case is closed’).

Today we are grappling with our own secular simulacrum of the Pelegian heresy. It involves the challenge to the infallibility of Washington by Iran, and the submission of Washington’s European allies (clients) when it comes to the shredding of the Iran Nuclear Deal, officially known as the JCPOA.

Only in an upside world could Iran be seriously accused of violating its obligations under the JCPOA, after Trump’s unilateral withdrawal followed by the imposition of brutal sanctions, which said European governments have failed utterly to resist.

Yet this is precisely what these E3 states have done, triggering the dispute mechanism within the agreement, which brings with it the ugly prospect…