Regrettably, the Security Council, for reasons that are well known, has to date been unable to adopt the draft resolution in spite of all the hullabaloo we hear about the need to put an end to peaceful nuclear programmes conducted by other parties.

The British veto, and the hullabaloo that it caused, is thus something that Europe could have done without, and Cameron will soon be sorry that he offered himself up as a hostage to his Euroskeptic backbenchers. Strengthening them will drastically weaken the UK s influence in the EU.