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.

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.

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.