• The European Union said that the talks it is chairing on the revival of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal must be paused due to “external factors”, days after fresh demands from Russia complicated negotiations.

• The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), also known as the Iran nuclear deal, is a key element of the global nuclear non-proliferation architecture endorsed by the UN Security Council.

• Since April 2021, many rounds of talks have been held in Vienna between Iran and major parties to the JCPOA, namely Russia, China, France, the UK and Germany, in a bid to revive the deal. The US has been indirectly involved in the talks.

• Last week Russia said it was demanding guarantees that the Western sanctions imposed on its economy following its invasion of Ukraine would not affect its trade with Iran. The Western powers said the demand is unacceptable and Washington has insisted it will not agree to.

• Iran’s foreign ministry said a pause in talks may create momentum for resolving any outstanding issues, but it insisted that external factors would not affect the will to move ahead with a collective agreement.

Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA)

• On July 14, 2015, the P5+1 (China, France, Germany, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States), the European Union (EU), and Iran reached a Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) to ensure that Iran’s nuclear programme will be peaceful. 

• The United Nations Security Council endorsed the JCPOA signed in Vienna. 

• The JCPOA came into effect on October 18, 2015 and participants began taking steps necessary to implement their JCPOA commitments.

• The JCPOA ensures that Iran’s nuclear programme will be exclusively peaceful in return for the comprehensive lifting of UN, multilateral and national sanctions related to Iran’s nuclear programme.

• The JCPOA is a robust verifiable agreement that sets a series of strict limitations on Iran’s access to nuclear material and sensitive equipment. 

• In addition, the agreement gives the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) unprecedented access to monitor and verify Iran’s programme. 

• The agreement cut off Iran’s pathways to fissile material for a nuclear weapon, while ensuring the vigorous inspections and transparency necessary for verification. 

• The accord was aimed to reduce the number of Iran’s centrifuges by two-thirds and eliminate 98 per cent of its enriched uranium, going from a quantity enough to produce 10 nuclear weapons to a fraction of what was needed for a single nuclear weapon.

• In May 2018, the then US President Donald Trump pulled the US out of the accord, opting for a maximum pressure campaign of stepped-up US sanctions and other tough actions. 

• Iran responded by intensifying its enrichment of uranium and building of centrifuges, while maintaining its insistence that its nuclear development was for civilian and not military purposes. 

• Iran’s moves increased pressure on major world powers and raised tensions among US allies and strategic partners in the Middle East.

• The IAEA has said that over the past two years, Iran has accumulated a lot of nuclear material and new capacities and used the time for honing their skills in these areas.

• In December 2020, participants of the JCPOA acknowledged at ministerial-level the prospect of a return of the US to the JCPOA and underlined their readiness to positively address this in a joint effort. The EU and its Member States are committed to preserving the JCPOA.

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