When president Barack Obama signed a deal with Iran in 2015 to limit its nuclear enrichment programme for a decade, the US agreed to release $1.7bn in frozen Iranian assets as part of that package – while there were mistrust from many that Iran would comply, it was seen as a small price to slow down the spectre of a nuclear-armed Iran.

Donald Trump, however, felt different. For more than a decade, he has regularly attacked Obama for his “terrible deal”, which he ripped up early in his first presidency. At rallies, press conferences and almost any other opportunity that arises, Trump attacked Obama for the “sad, disgusting” spectacle of paying a “ransom”.

Returning $1.7bn of Iran’s own money in exchange for delaying nuclear enrichment was a price Trump was unwilling to pay. This was one of the President’s most consequential temper tantrums: there are those who claim that as a result of his decision to abandon the deal, Iran resumed enriching uranium.

Trump launched major airstrikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities in 2025, which he claimed – falsely – had “completely and totally obliterated” their enrichment capabilities. The need to destroy Iran’s nuclear facilities was the........

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