A day after Donald Trump said he was withdrawing from the Iran weapons deal, he created further anxiety by threatening Iran with ‘severe consequences’ if it restarted its nuclear programme. He is also preparing to impose new sanctions, perhaps as early as next week. His comments came as officials in Iran and leaders across Europe scrambled to see if they could continue to operate the 2015 deal negotiated by Barack Obama. France’s foreign minister claimed that the deal could yet continue, but Iranian president Hassan Rouhani told Emmanuel Macron that Europe had only a ‘limited opportunity’ to preserve it.