Europe is on a transatlantic charm offensive this week. French president Emmanuel Macron was welcomed by president Donald Trump yesterday and before the end of the week Germany’s Angela Merkel will be hosted in Washington too. Top of the agenda is the Iran nuclear deal, from which Trump has intimated he will withdraw support; Germany and France, two of the agreement’s other signatories, hope to convince him that co-operation in global affairs is essential. It’s unlikely to work. Even though Macron displayed his ability to massage Trump’s ego when he rolled out the red carpet for him in Paris last year, the US president has brought in a strident unilateralist (in the form of John Bolton) as his national security adviser. It’s a signal that he wants no further barriers to acting alone in matters of foreign policy. Listen to our discussion with expert Paul Rogers on yesterday’s episode of The Briefing for more analysis.