Editor's Note: Seymur Mammadov is the director of the international expert club EurAsiaAz and editor-in-chief of Azerbaijan news agency Vzglyad.az. The article reflects the author's opinions, and not necessarily the views of CGTN.

The United States, whose demands and directives once assumed 100 percent unconditional fulfillment, continues to rapidly lose its position as the world hegemon.

Allies are showing more and more temper and are increasingly contradicting the boss, which was not noticed before. Previously, Europe took every step with the obligatory glance at the U.S. and in accordance with their will. Now the situation is changing so rapidly that it is becoming increasingly difficult for American political strategists to predict it.

A few days ago, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo formally notified the UN Security Council of the restoration of U.S. sanctions against Iran. The restrictions will take effect one month after the notification.

Pompeo expressed hope that the UN Security Council will support Washington's initiative. However, almost all member states of the UN Security Council opposed U.S. sanctions against Iran. Thirteen of the 15 members of the UN Security Council opposed the launch of a mechanism to restore sanctions against Iran, initiated by the United States.

"France, Germany and the UK note that the United States has ceased to be a party to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) on the Iranian nuclear program after its withdrawal from this agreement in May 2018. We cannot approve this initiative, which is incompatible with our efforts to support the JCPOA," the statement said.

The piquancy of this situation is given by the fact that two years ago the United States, without waiting for the expiration of the UN resolution, withdrew from the JCPOA and unilaterally announced the restoration of tough sanctions against Tehran.

In addition, changes in the global political field do not bode well for the American side in solving this task.

The United States has repeatedly demanded an extension of the arms embargo against Iran, but recently the UN Security Council rejected the American resolution, as most members of the Security Council abstained from voting.

But the most remarkable thing about the current situation is that its long-standing and loyal allies – France, Great Britain and Germany – opposed the interests of the United States, which was probably a surprise to Washington.

True, there should not be much surprise here, given a correct analysis of what has been happening over the past couple of years. Suffice it to recall the resistance and disobedience the United States faced when trying to impose sanctions on the Europeans against China.

Washington spent a long time working among its allies, trying to introduce its own view of the "Chinese question" and make Beijing in the eyes of Europeans the main culprit for all their troubles, coupled with the world crisis.

But either the United States turned out to be insufficiently convincing, or Europe finally began to emerge from the American shadow, but the issue of massive sanctions against China did not meet with such massive support as the idea of ​​pressure on Iran at one time.

The Europeans reminded the Americans both of their own interests and of the fact that their economies, and the entire world economy, are too strongly welded to the Chinese economy and the severing of these ties threatens them with big problems.

In fact, relations between the United States and Europe are going through far from the best times with the coming to power of Donald Trump. 

Since the ongoing policy of pressure from the Trump administration on Russia, Iran, Venezuela, China, and even those countries that are trying to establish business partnerships with companies on the sanctions list, is hitting the business interests of U.S. friends and partners.

And the Europeans themselves want to depend less and less on the United States, to have their own army, not controlled by NATO. Earlier, French President Emmanuel Macron himself called for the creation of an EU army and not rely on the United States.

Under the Trump administration, the U.S. has not received the necessary solid support from Europe. The reaction of the closest NATO allies, who perceived rather ambiguously the reckless provocative actions of the United States to physically destroy the Iranian General Qasem Soleimani, turned out to be far from expectations in Washington. 

Even U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo criticized a number of European countries for insufficient support for Washington on this issue.

Of course, Europe will continue to be a conduit of American interests, if only to contain the spread of Russian influence, which is not in the interests of the Europeans themselves. 

European countries will continue to look back at Washington's opinion. But the process of moving away from unconditional subordination has already begun, and the Europeans' own interests will increasingly prevail. 

The situation around the JCPOA has clearly demonstrated this. The fact that 13 out of 15 members of the Security Council did not support the United States is a good lesson for the Americans. And also a very alarming signal for Washington that the era of hegemony of American interests in Europe is coming to an end.

(If you want to contribute and have specific expertise, contact us at opinions@cgtn.com.)