As the fate of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal hangs in balance, a new report by the IAEA reveals that Iran is now closer than ever to having enough highly enriched uranium-235 for a nuclear bomb. (Updated March 5, 2022)

The 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and the P5+1 (China, France, Germany, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States) verifiably blocked Iran’s pathways to nuclear weapons and provided incentives for Tehran to maintain an exclusively peaceful nuclear program.

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.

Iran granted the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) access to replace cameras at a site that manufactures centrifuge parts.

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.

Iran continues to block International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors from accessing a nuclear facility and installing new surveillance equipment.

Iran has said it will resume talks, stalled since June, on restoring the 2015 nuclear deal known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.