Iran Is Ignoring the Nuclear Pact — and the U.S. Only Has Itself to Blame

Iran just breached its uranium stockpile limit; should the U.S. respond, it’ll be hard-pressed to muster support from its European allies

A reactor building at the Russian-built Bushehr nuclear power plant in Bushehr, southern Iran. The plant is likely to begin electricity production in a month. Photo: Iran International Photo Agency via Getty

As the world continues to fixate on the potential implications of Donald Trump’s meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, an uncomfortable truth is emerging in the Middle East: The White House is reaping what it sowed in Iran.

Tehran, clearly confident that it can weather a confrontation with the U.S., is showing a clear pattern of escalation on the diplomatic and military fronts — most recently with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani’s announcement on Wednesday that Iran will begin to enrich uranium beyond the levels specified under the 2015 nuclear pact. The news puts Iran and the U.S. on a crash course to political and diplomatic conflict that could easily spin into a military one with profound security and economic implications as hard-liners in both camps appear set on maximum belligerence.

Rouhani’s announcement that Iran will enrich uranium beyond the agreed-upon levels is just the country’s latest provocation. On Monday, the International Atomic Energy Agency, the Geneva-based international monitoring agency, announced it believed…