/ / Iran and various world powers to discuss US return to nuclear deal

Iran and various world powers to discuss US return to nuclear deal

April 01, 2021

First modification:

Representatives from Iran, China, Russia, France, Germany and the United Kingdom will meet virtually this Friday to discuss the possible reinstatement of the United States into the 2015 nuclear pact. The Joe Biden Administration welcomed the news. The North American country unilaterally abandoned the agreement in 2018 under the mandate of Donald Trump, who assured that the pact was “too beneficial” for Tehran.

The possibility that the United States rejoins the nuclear agreement with Iran will be on the table again this Friday, April 2. The European Union (EU) will be in charge of organizing a virtual meeting between representatives of China, France, Germany, Russia, the United Kingdom and Iran, moderated by Josep Borrell, the EU’s high representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.

The conference will address “the prospect of an eventual return of the United States” to nuclear negotiations with Iran, which unilaterally abandoned the nuclear pact and reimposed sanctions against the Islamic country in 2018, under the administration of Donald Trump.

“Participants will discuss the prospect of a possible return of the United States to the JCPOA (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action reached in Vienna in 2015) and on how to ensure the full and effective implementation of the agreement by all parties,” said the European Union. through a statement.

In this regard, the United States welcomed the meeting as good news. “We obviously welcome this as a positive step,” State Department spokesman Ned Price said Thursday during a press conference with the media. The politician added that the United States is studying “mutual steps” to return to the historic nuclear agreement.

Both Washington and Tehran are trying to revive the JCPOA and re-engage in talks, but have so far failed.

The origin of the nuclear pact and the exit of the United States

The nuclear agreement with Iran was an international pact signed between the Persian country and the United Nations Security Council – made up of China, the United States, France, the United Kingdom, and Russia. Germany and the European Union also signed the pact. This was signed on July 14, 2015 in Vienna and had a very clear objective: to reduce Iranian nuclear power.

The powers that signed it wanted Iran to limit its developed nuclear program to peaceful purposes and, in return, promised to lift the sanctions against the Persian nation. Among its conditions, the agreement established that Iran could not build a new nuclear plant until 230 and that it should reduce its enriched uranium reserves by 98%, among other premises; Iran accepted.


This resolution became a historic milestone for diplomacy, as it was an agreement that reassured the nations that saw Iran as a threat. But, in the same way that the United States considers itself a precursor to nuclear achievement – under the presidency of Barack Obama – it is also the only country that has abandoned it. In 2018, then-president Donald Trump unilaterally dissociated himself from the pact, claiming that it benefited Tehran “too much” and that it was of no use against a “state sponsor of terrorism.”

The thing did not stop there. The former Republican leader announced that he was reimposing sanctions against Iran because it was violating the agreement. A pact that he already considered insufficient, since he wanted the Middle Eastern nation to stop the production of ballistic missiles.

Despite Trump’s accusations, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) later showed that the Islamic country had been complying with the premises of the agreement.

The chances of the United States returning to the nuclear deal

The clear positioning in the Trump era regarding Iran, which he considered an absolute enemy, changed with the entry of Joe Biden to power. Since the beginning of his term, both the Democrat and his government cabinet have assured that they intend to return to the agreement signed in Vienna.

Although for this they require some guarantees. The most recent IAEA report warned that Iran had once again produced uranium enriched up to 20% – although far from the 90% needed to make a nuclear weapon – in protest at what happened. The Iranian Government argued that it had the right to do so after one of the parties had failed to comply with the agreement and began to challenge the protocols as of 2019. Currently, the United States demands that Iran return to the agreement, while the Persian nation claims that first the sanctions against him must be lifted.

A situation from which, for the moment, no way out has been found. Earlier this year, Tehran rejected a US proposal as unacceptable, and responded with a counter offer that the Biden cast defined as “unworkable.” as reported by the magazine ‘POLITICO’.

“The ball is really in their court to see if they want to take the path of diplomacy and return to comply with the agreement,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said recently, referring to the Iranian Executive.

At the moment, the negotiations are stalled and the Iranian government reproaches the United States for maintaining the sanctions. Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif accused Biden of following in Trump’s footsteps with his “illegal” sanctions.


For that reason, the European Union is trying to mediate. The international sphere also fears the expiration, at the end of May, of the temporary agreement that Iran reached with the IAEA. When it ends, the organization will no longer have access to Iranian nuclear facilities. However, the United Nations will continue to have access to its nuclear program, although this is something that many world powers consider insufficient. A concern compounded by hostile Iranian behavior in the Middle East region.

The meeting scheduled for this Friday could start talks that lead to the return of the United States to the 2015 nuclear agreement and de-escalate international tension.

With AFP, Reuters and local media

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source https://pledgetimes.com/iran-and-various-world-powers-to-discuss-us-return-to-nuclear-deal/

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