The Takeaway: Can US guarantee Iran nuclear deal?
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Hot take: Iran wants more than words from Biden to close nuclear deal
Latest: Iran wants iron-clad guarantees that the United States won’t again back out of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), or Iran nuclear deal, as negotiators in Vienna close in on a new pact, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Background: The Barack Obama administration agreed to the JCPOA, an international agreement, in 2015 with the UK, France, Germany, the EU, Russia, China and Iran. The Donald Trump administration withdrew from the pact in May 2018, reimposing previous sanctions on Iran and adding new ones, reversing the economic gains for Iran between 2016 and 2018 (see our report here). It’s not unprecedented for a new administration to abandon an international agreement made by its predecessor, but it is rare precisely because it undercuts the country’s credibility in international dealmaking.
