The new tensions in the Gulf. A test bed of Europe-US relations

[Autom. eng. transl.] The new tensions in the Gulf area have once again tested the relationship between the United States and Europe. Under the Trump administration, Washington's position in the region has undergone a radical change from the Barack Obama years. The search for a privileged relationship with Saudi Arabia constitutes one of the pillars of this new political line but is, at the same time, a source of tension both within the United States itself, and with European allies, in particular after the disappearance by the journalist Jamal Khashoggi. At the same time, the deterioration of relations between the United States and Iran (an important step is the exit of Washington from the JCPOA) has put tension on the relationship between Tehran and its European interlocutors regarding the ability of the latter to sustain credibly the contents. of the nuclear deal. In both cases, European action appeared uncertain. Attempts to suspend military supplies to Saudi Arabia (also as a response to the conflict that has been taking place in neighboring Yemen since 2015) have not affected major suppliers and have highlighted the possible vulnerability of a strongly integrated Defense industry. Similarly, the attempt to build a financial architecture that would allow Washington to circumvent Washington's measures against those who have trade relations with Tehran seems to have failed the basic objective of keeping the Islamic Republic politically engaged in the agreement. Against this background, the stalemate in the common institutions after the vote for the renewal of the European Parliament and the approaching of the 2020 presidential elections in the United States act as further factors of complexity, making the divergence of the trajectories followed on both sides of the Atlantic.