Useful resources for media and others on the 2015 nuclear deal as talks progress in Vienna on restoring the agreement.
Talks to restore the 2015 nuclear deal are ongoing, and have entered a critical phase. Amid talks, Iran tested a satellite launch vehicle and imposed sanctions on 51 Americans, raising tensions. The United States offered South Korea a specific license to trade with an Iranian entity, bypassing U.S. sanctions.
The eighth round of negotiations on reviving the 2015 deal resumed in January.
Iran granted the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) access to replace cameras at a site that manufactures centrifuge parts.
Negotiations to restore the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran resumed in Vienna, but Iran's hardline approach raised concerns about the prospects for success. Iran continues to stonewall IAEA efforts to clarify its safeguards declaration and ensure continuity of knowledge at the Karaj centrifuge component manufacturing facility.
Full restoration of the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran remains the best possible option to avert a nuclear crisis and provide Tehran with sanctions relief, but the Raisi administration’s approach to talks and the country’s growing nuclear program risks jeopardizing those efforts.
As negotiations to restore the 2015 nuclear deal resumed, Iran’s uranium-enrichment program continued to grow, deepening international concerns.
Iran continues to block International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors from accessing a nuclear facility and installing new surveillance equipment.
Iran’s refusal to allow inspectors to access a site where centrifuge components are produced is escalating tensions ahead of the resumption of talks to restore the 2015 nuclear deal.
Iran has said it will resume talks, stalled since June, on restoring the 2015 nuclear deal known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.
IAEA Chief Supports Iran Censure
European Union Deputy Secretary-General Enrique Mora met with Iranian officials in Tehran Oct. 14. While the meeting was constructive, Iran is not yet ready to return to negotiations in Vienna to continue talks on restoring the 2015 nuclear deal. During a trip to Washington, International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Grossi said he plans to travel to Iran in the coming days to try and resolve a dispute over access to a centrifuge component production facility.
Iran avoided a censure from the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) Board of Governors by striking a last-minute deal with the agency that allowed inspectors to access monitoring equipment at several nuclear facilities.
New leadership in Iran, historical factors and a complicated geostrategic environment are driving
Iranian decision-making, thus making compromise with the West on the nuclear deal unlikely.
With political will, diplomatic skill, and some luck, the JCPOA could survive in some form and become
a cornerstone for future regional weapons of mass destruction and security agreements.