European diplomats have still not recovered from the surprise. In early April, Donald Trump caught everyone off guard by announcing the resumption of negotiations between Tehran and Washington for a new Iranian nuclear deal, seven years after he ended the previous agreement during his first term.

A fourth meeting on this issue had been scheduled for Saturday, May 3, in Rome, but was postponed on Wednesday. No one in European or Iranian governments understands what the United States is trying to achieve, or who is really leading the talks, apart from the US president's special envoy, Steve Witkoff, a novice in diplomacy.

In Europe, as elsewhere, several high-ranking leaders and diplomats were already in office during Trump's first term (2017-2021). They were familiar with his abrasive ways but reassured themselves by reiterating that the American president was primarily "transactional" and that, in this context, there was room for discussion. At the onset of his second term, they also imagined that, informed by experience, he would be better prepared for the exercise of power than in 2017 and that relations with his administration would be more professional.

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