Budapest Post

Cum Deo pro Patria et Libertate
Budapest, Europe and world news

Here's what's in the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran that Trump abandoned and Biden is vying to restore

Here's what's in the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran that Trump abandoned and Biden is vying to restore

Biden's goal of reviving the Iran nuclear deal has proven complicated, particularly due to recent protests in Iran and Tehran's support for Russia.

President Joe Biden has made restoring the 2015 Iran nuclear deal a top foreign policy priority.

Reviving the deal has proved complicated, however, and negotiations to restore the pact are stalled. The election of a hardline president, Ebrahim Raisi, the use of Iranian-made drones by Russia in the war in Ukraine, and the Iranian government's brutal crackdown on recent protests have not helped matters.

Robert Malley, the Biden administration's special envoy for Iran, recently said that the US government remained open to diplomacy but signaled that Tehran's sale of drones to Russia and approach to the protests was throwing a wrench in the process.

"We're not spending our time now focused on the deal," Malley told Foreign Policy this month. "Our focus is on what's happening in Iran and Iran's support for Putin's war of aggression in Ukraine."

In July, Biden said that the US would use military force against Iran as a "last resort" to prevent it from developing a nuclear weapon.

Malley told Foreign Policy that diplomacy remained the administration's preferred means of preventing Iran from reaching this point, but underscored that the US has other paths as well. He said this includes a "military option," but added "we're not there" and "we're still hopeful that we will find other means."

Meanwhile, Secretary of State Antony Blinken in early December also said that Tehran's recent actions, including "viciously cracking down on peaceful protesters at home" and the "arming and training Russian forces with drones," have only deepened the administration's conviction that Iran must "never be allowed to acquire a nuclear weapon." 

The Iran deal was a crowning diplomatic achievements of former President Barack Obama's tenure and restoring it would be a major foreign policy achievement for Biden, but it has continued to be a divisive issue in Washington since it came to fruition in 2015. 

Trump controversially withdrew the US from the landmark pact in May 2018.

Subsequently, the Trump administration unsuccessfully sought to squeeze Iran into negotiating a more stringent version of the deal with harsh economic sanctions as part of a "maximum pressure" campaign. Trump's approach to the issue pushed tensions between Washington and Tehran to historic heights, and raised concerns that a new war was on the horizon in the Middle East. 

Trump's unilateral decision to withdraw the US from the JCPOA in May 2018 was also promptly condemned by US allies, who have scrambled to find a diplomatic solution ever since. 

Before Trump withdrew from the deal, Iran's breakout time to a nuclear weapon was roughly a year. But it's now closer to "just a few weeks," Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in early December. 

Critics of Trump say that his decision to abandon the pact unnecessarily sparked a global crisis and increased the prospect of war, while pushing Iran closer to developing a nuclear weapon. 

Trump frequently described the deal as "terrible," and while the pact has many proponents, he is hardly alone in this view.

To understand the polarizing nature of this deal and the challenges Biden will face in vying to restore it, here's a quick breakdown of the historic pact and the debate surrounding it. 


The Iran deal, explained
Former US Secretary of State John Kerry, left, meets with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif in 2016.


In July 2015, Iran and six countries reached a historic agreement called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), popularly known as the Iran nuclear deal. 

The six major powers involved in these negotiations with Iran were known as the P5+1, which stands for the United Nations security council's five permanent members (the US, France, the UK, China, and Russia) and Germany.  

The deal came together after two years of intense discussions and aimed to restrict Iran's ability to develop nuclear weapons in exchange for lifting economic sanctions against Tehran. 

As part of the deal, Iran agreed to reduce its number of centrifuges — tube-shaped machines that help enrich uranium — by two-thirds. It also agreed to reduce its stockpile of enriched uranium by 98% and limit uranium enrichment to 3.67%.

In other words, Tehran agreed to restrictions that would allow it to have enough enriched uranium to maintain the country's energy needs, without having the ability to build a nuclear bomb.

On top of this, Iran agreed to give access to inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the UN's nuclear watchdog agency, to its nuclear facilities, among other facilities. Prior to Trump's decision to withdraw from the deal and for a long period after, the IAEA repeatedly found Iran to be complying with the terms of the pact. 

In January 2016, when the IAEA declared Iran was living up to its end of the bargain, all nuclear-related international sanctions against Iran were lifted.


The controversy surrounding the Iran deal, explained


Iran and the US have been enemies for decades. The two countries have an extremely complex history that involved a CIA-orchestrated coup in the 1950s, a pro-American puppet monarch who was overthrown in 1979 via the Islamic revolution, and the infamous hostage crisis at the US embassy in Tehran that followed the uprising.

The constant threats from Iranian leaders against Israel, America's top ally in the Middle East, and chants of "death to America" in Iranian streets have also not helped matters. 

In this context, there is a massive distrust for Iran in the US (and vice versa), and Washington has long feared what might happen if the Iranian regime developed a nuclear weapon. Iran made great strides in this regard by the 2010s, hence the Obama administration's efforts to orchestrate the nuclear deal. When the pact was finally settled in 2015, it was widely celebrated as a major diplomatic achievement. 

But many (primarily conservative) leaders in Washington still felt the Iran nuclear deal didn't go far enough to limit the country's ability to develop nuclear weapons. 

This is because the Iran deal contains sunset clauses, or parts of the agreement that will ultimately expire. Under the deal, the restrictions on Iran's centrifuges go away after 10 years (in 2025) and the limitations on uranium enrichment disappear five years after that (2030). Hence, some feared that once these restrictions expire, Iran could rapidly develop a nuclear weapon. 

"It is clear to me that we cannot prevent an Iranian nuclear bomb under the decaying and rotten structure of the current agreement," Trump said in May 2018. "The Iran deal is defective at its core. If we do nothing we know exactly what will happen."

More broadly, Trump, among others, argued the deal didn't do enough to address Iran's regional behavior or its missile program. 

Washington has also faced pressure to avoid engagement with Iran from Israel, the US's top ally in the region.

Saudi Arabia, a close security partner of the US that also views Iran as a threat, has also criticized the deal and urged the US to consult the Gulf states in any efforts to revive the accord. 


Iran effectively abandoned the the nuclear deal amid fears of war with the US in early 2020
An Iranian holds a photograph of Qassem Soleimani in Tehran after his assassination.


After Trump in January 2020 ordered a drone strike that killed Iran's top general, Qassem Soleimani, Tehran effectively abandoned the JCPOA altogether.

By November 2020, the UN's nuclear watchdog said Iran's stockpile of low-enriched uranium was more than 12 times the limit set under the JCPOA. 

For roughly a year after Trump's controversial announcement, Iran remained in compliance with the deal. But the Iranian government began taking steps away from the JCPOA in the summer of 2019. 

Wendy Sherman, who served as the Obama administration's lead negotiator on the JCPOA and has been nominated by Biden to serve as deputy to Secretary of State Antony Blinken, in September 2019 told Insider that Iran's violations of the pact were of "serious concern."

"It's all concerning, because it's moving away from a framework that ensured Iran would not get a nuclear weapon," Sherman said. "Iran is not just being emboldened but is being left in some ways to take actions that say they will not be pushed back. We are at a very, very difficult place."

As part of an effort to increase pressure on European leaders fighting to save the deal, Iran has gradually taken more steps in violation of the pact and has enriched uranium to 60% — not far off from weapons-grade levels (90%). 

But the Biden administration is still leaving the door open for a diplomatic path to save the 2015 deal.

Blinken in early December said the administration continues to believe diplomacy is the "best way" to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. "But should the Iranian regime reject that path, its leaders should make no mistake that all options are on the table to ensure that Iran does not obtain a nuclear weapon," Blinken added.

AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
France Requests Airlines to Cut Flights at Paris Airports Amid Planned Air Traffic Controller Strike
Poland Implements Border Checks Amid Growing Migration Tensions
Emirates Airline Expands Market Share with New $20 Million Campaign
Amazon Reaches Milestone with Deployment of One Millionth Robot
Yulia Putintseva Calls for Spectator Ejection at Wimbledon Over Safety Concerns
House Oversight Committee Subpoenas Former Jill Biden Aide Amid Investigation into Alleged Concealment of President Biden's Cognitive Health
Amazon Reaches Major Automation Milestone with Over One Million Robots
Extreme Heat Wave Sweeps Across Europe, Hitting Record Temperatures
Meta Announces Formation of Ambitious AI Unit, Meta Superintelligence Labs
Robots Compete in Football Tournament in China Amid Injuries
China Unveils Miniature Insect-Like Surveillance Drone
Marc Marquez Claims Victory at Dutch Grand Prix Amidst Family Misfortune
Germany Votes to Suspend Family Reunification for Asylum Seekers
Budapest Pride Parade Draws 200,000 Participants Amid Government Ban
Southern Europe Experiences Extreme Heat
Xiaomi's YU7 SUV Launch Garners Record Pre-Orders Amid Market Challenges
Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez's Lavish Wedding in Venice
Russia Launches Largest Air Assault on Ukraine Since Invasion
Massive Anti-Government Protests Erupt in Belgrade
Iran Executes Alleged Israeli Spies and Arrests Hundreds Amid Post-War Crackdown
Hungary's Prime Minister Criticizes NATO's Role in Ukraine
EU TO HUNGARY: LET THEM PRIDE OR PREP FOR SHADE. ORBÁN TO EU: STAY IN YOUR LANE AND FIX YOUR OWN MESS.
Hungarian Scientist to Conduct 30 Research Experiments on the International Space Station
NATO Members Agree to 5% Defense Spending Target by 2035
NATO Leaders Endorse Plan for Increased Defence Spending
U.S. Crude Oil Prices Drop Below $65 Amid Market Volatility
International Astronaut Team Launched to Space Station
Macron and Merz: Europe must arm itself in an unstable world
Germany and Italy Under Pressure to Repatriate $245bn of Gold from US Vaults
Iran Intensifies Crackdown on Alleged Mossad Operatives After Sabotage Claims
Trump Praises Iran’s ‘Very Weak’ Response After U.S. Strikes and Presses Israel to Pursue Peace
Oil Prices Set to Surge After US Strikes Iran
BA and Singapore Airlines Cancel Dubai Flights Amid Middle East Tensions
Trump Faces Backlash from MAGA Base Over Iran Strikes
Meta Bets $14 B on Alexandr Wang to Drive AI Ambitions
FedEx Founder Fred Smith, ‘Heart and Soul’ of the Company, Dies at 80
Chinese Factories Shift Away from U.S. Amid Trump‑Era Tariffs
Pimco Seizes Opportunity in Japan’s Dislocated Bond Market
Labubu Doll Drives Pop Mart to Status as China’s Most Valuable Toy Maker
Global Coal Demand Defies Paris Accord Goals
United States Conducts Precision Strikes on Iran’s Nuclear Sites
US strikes Iran nuclear sites, Trump says
Telegram Founder: I Will Leave My Fortune to Over 100 of My Children
16 Billion Login Credentials Leaked in Unprecedented Cybersecurity Breach
Senate hearing on who was 'really running' Biden White House kicks off
Hungary Ranked Among the World’s Safest Travel Destinations for 2025
G7 Leaders Fail to Reach Consensus on Key Global Issues
FBI and Senate Investigate Allegations of Chinese Plot to Influence the 2020 Election in Biden’s Favor Using Fake U.S. Driver’s Licenses
Trump Demands Iran's Unconditional Surrender Amid Escalating Conflict
Shock Within Iran’s Leadership: Khamenei’s Failed Plan to Launch 1,000 Missiles Against Israel
×