Iran Is Now Unfettered

During the Obama years, Saudi Arabia and its Middle East allies were enraged by Washington’s perceived indifference to their security concerns over Iran. They couldn’t seem to convince the president that Tehran’s ambitions posed the greatest security threat to the region.

Then came Donald Trump, who seemed eager to adopt their view of Iran as the single most malignant threat to the region—the world, even. Tuesday, Trump delivered, announcing that the United States would pull out of the landmark nuclear deal negotiated by the Obama administration and five other world powers, and reimpose harsh sanctions that badly damaged Iran’s economy.

But Riyadh, along with the six-member Gulf Cooperation Council and its Arab allies, may find the Trump administration’s scuttling of the deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, only initiates a fresh period of uncertainty and instability in the region. That instability may drive up oil