Why Khashoggi's killing opens new wounds in US-Saudi v/s EU-Iran axis
The EU nations are at odds with the United States on the Jamal Khashoggi murder speculations. This is a new dividing line between Washington and the European Union.
Since President Donald Trump came to power, the West has struggled with mixed signals from the US.
From Nato to arm-twisting tactics on trade, both sides tried to impose their political will on each other. But Khashoggi’s murder is the biggest political test so far.
It adds to the soured relationship between Washington and the EU on the Iran deal. The US killed the deal former President Barack Obama crafted with the Iranians. He had the support of the EU.
They wanted a share of the business pie in Tehran’s nuclear power. The US and the EU thought with a deal, they could have control of the Iranian nuclear business. That would allow them to prevent Iran from building a nuclear weapon.
The US renewed its sanctions on Iran. This promoted the EU to vow it would fight for its share of the Iran deal. Feeling betrayed by President Donald Trump, the EU sought to protect European companies doing business with Tehran. it failed.
The companies abandoned Iran. They did not want to face the wrath of the US with threats of sanctions against them if they persisted with Iran.
This clearly meant the EU will miss out on major business deals with Tehran, a direct adversary of the Saudi Arabian kingdom in the Middle East.
Iran is fighting the Saudi’s in a deadly power keg that stretches from Syria to Iraq, Yemen to Lebanon and Bahrain to Qatar.
The misadventure of the American invasion and murder of Saddam Hussein in Iraq has given greater influence to Iran.
The Saudi problems in Syria and the defeat of its allies against Bashar Al-Assad is legendary.
The quagmire in Yemen is another tell-tall of how the Saudi’s are struggling against Iran.
And now, the Khashoggi murder is acting as an open wound for both the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman and Trump. He is not popular with the nosey Europeans, but he has Trump’s support. This divides the Western world in the middle.
The EU is not going to give Trump any support in his attempt to shadow the Saudi Crown Prince from direct responsibility in Khashoggi’s murder.
The EU will not accept – or will have to admit defeat again – in the event a culprit is made to bear the full brunt of the murder. Reports are it will be pinned on a close ally-staff of the Saudi Crown Prince.
Trump will surely hope this settles the case. But the Europeans, the Turks and the Qataris (they are involved in the anti-Saudi rhetoric) will keep this as a bleeding wound.
It will be a constant wedge between them and the US as long as Trump is in power.