Talks Re Opened on Iran Nuclear Deal

One of the major stumbling blocks is Tehran's demand that the US State Department removes Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps from its list of foreign terrorist organisations.

Table of Contents

Iran Nuclear Deal UPSC: Relevance

GS 2: Effect of policies and politics of developed and developing countries on India’s interests, Indian diaspora.

JCPOA UPSC: Context

Recently, Iran has said that it is awaiting US response to “solutions” discussed with the EU envoy for breaking a stalemate in talks aimed at restoring the 2015 nuclear deal.

Iran nuclear deal news: Key points

Iran has been engaged in direct negotiations with France, Germany, Britain, Russia and China to revive the nuclear deal. The US has participated indirectly.
Talks, however, remains stalled for two months due to some sticky points discussed later in this article.

Iran nuclear agreement: Sticky issues

One of the major stumbling blocks is Tehran’s demand that the US State Department removes Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps from its list of foreign terrorist organisations.
Washington has so far resisted, claiming that the issue falls outside the scope of the nucleal deal and should not be linked to the discussions.

What is Iran nuclear deal?

In 2015, P5+1 countries-– the US, UK, France, China, Russia and Germany—signed a nuclear deal with Iran, formally called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) that was acclaimed as the biggest diplomatic achievement of the then US government.
The original agreement required Iran to send abroad about 98 percent of its enriched uranium and it limited its nuclear capacity, with independent observers monitoring its progress.
In return, the US removed sanctions that opened Iran up to the world economy.
The JCPOA, according to international monitors, achieved its goal of curtailing Iran’s nuclear program.

Iran nuclear talks: Annulment of the nuclear deal

In 2018, Trump administration unilaterally pulled out of the JCPOA in 2018 and imposed a “maximum pressure” sanctions campaign.
Those sanctions continue to be punishing for Iranians, especially throughout the pandemic, and have severely limited access to medicine and food.
In 2019, Iran started breaching its side of the agreement.
Subsequently, its nuclear program has reached more advanced stages. Iran’s stockpile of uranium has expanded, with levels of enrichment much higher than permitted under the 2015 deal.
At this point, Iran may be able to produce the material for a weapon in less than six weeks. (The JCPOA had put that time at about a year.)

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