While Donald Trump appears to have made good progress in North Korea and even seems to be ahead on points in the US-China trade dispute, the likely outcome of his ongoing war of words with Iran's Ayatollahs is still unclear.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
That said, it does seem as if his controversial, and frequently criticised, decision to walk away from the landmark 2015 nuclear deal brokered by the Obama administration and signed off on by many European governments, was justified.
Tehran has just revealed it has already stockpiled more than the 300 kilograms of low-enriched uranium permitted under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action and announced plans to enrich uranium to five per cent, well above the 3.2 per cent set out in the JCPOA.
The stockpile was not created overnight and possibly exceeded the permissible limit well before America's unilateral decision to walk away from the Obama deal on the grounds it had failed.
It was always intended that the deal would ensure Iran could not initiate a crash program of nuclear weapons development that would deliver it a bomb at short notice.
If this were to happen it would be viewed as a catastrophe by Israel, Iraq and Saudi Arabia; all nations that have good reason to fear what might happen if Tehran went nuclear and ballistic.
Given Israel has been a nuclear power since 1966 and is believed to have between 60 and 80 bombs at its disposal, there is a grave risk that any conflict could result in the mutually assured destruction of both nations and the devastation of much of the Middle East.
This is not a danger to which Australians can be indifferent. Such an outcome would cripple the global economy and shut down all shipping, including oil, through the Persian Gulf.
Iranians, the majority of whom only want peace, a decent standard of living and good relations with their neighbours, are the meat in the sandwich.
It has also been reported in recent days that secret documents stolen by Israeli agents from Tehran in 2018 revealed that Iran had never resiled from its long term ambition to become a fully fledged nuclear power despite the Obama-brokered deal.
The information cache contained detailed material which should have been handed over as part of the JCPOA. It has been claimed the documents were kept away from inspectors in direct contravention of the agreement.
It has also been claimed the documents include conclusive proof the Ayatollahs were working on nuclear warhead designs as late as 2003 and that Iran could have had as many as five atomic bombs under construction.
One Australian academic has said the papers contain strong hints Iranian scientists are still working on bomb development.
If this is the case then Iran's leaders have been playing the rest of the world for fools in the apparent hope of a fait accompli that would give them a seat at the top table.
The prospect of a nuclear armed Israel and Iran facing off against each other doesn't bear thinking about.
That said, there is a real danger America's hardline stance will leave Iran with no room for manoeuvre or retreat.
What we are seeing is eerily reminiscent of 1941 when Dean Acheson's unilateral decision to cut off Japan's oil supplies led to the attack on Pearl Harbour.
The tragedy is the Iranian people, the majority of whom only want peace, a decent standard of living and good relations with their neighbours, are the meat in the sandwich.
They deserve better.
