As US sanctions on Iran take effect, Europe looks for circumvention

Of all the issues between Europe and the Trump administration, Iran has become the most divisive

As tough new American sanctions against Iran took effect on Monday, European officials remained determined to go their own way, but their progress on an issue that has sharply divided the United States and its closest allies has been halting, at best.

The Europeans consider the 2015 Iran nuclear deal crucial to their national interests, and say they intend to keep honoring it. But to date, they have not managed to put in place a mechanism for sidestepping the sanctions without antagonizing the Trump administration.

Their stance has become only more complicated by Denmark’s recent accusation that the Iranian government tried to