The Takeaway: Iran nuclear talks resume next week — What you need to know
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Hot take: US seeks united diplomatic front ahead of Iran nuclear talks
Background:
- Talks on the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), or Iran nuclear deal, resume on Nov. 29 in Vienna. The parties include Iran, Russia, China, the United Kingdom, France and Germany, along with the European Union. The United States, under former President Donald Trump, withdrew from the JCPOA in May 2018. While the United States, having withdrawn, won’t be “in the room,” its delegation will be just outside the door.
- This will be the seventh round of talks this year and the first such meeting since June and since Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi took office on Aug. 3. Former Iran Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, who served under former Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, said he left the Raisi government a “framework for a possible deal.”
- The JCPOA, negotiated by the United States under former President Barack Obama, is included in UN Security Council Resolution 2231 (2015) — you can read the resolution and JCPOA here.
Latest:
- US Iran Envoy Rob Malley said on Nov. 19 at the IISS Manama Dialogue that “time is running out" to negotiate a return to the JCPOA, and that US regional partners clearly support a return to the JCPOA. He added that US President Joe Biden will not allow Iran to develop a nuclear weapon. US State Department spokesperson Ned Price said on Nov. 23 that the US position is a return to “mutual compliance" by Washington and Tehran to the JCPOA.
- Iran Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said in an interview this month that while Iran is returning to the Vienna talks, “There is no need for negotiations,” suggesting the United States should simply lift the sanctions imposed on Iran since May 2018.
- Rafael Grossi, director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which monitors Iran’s compliance with the JCPOA, told the IAEA Board of Governors on Nov. 24 that his meetings on Iran on Nov. 23 were “inconclusive” and the IAEA’s role has been “seriously undermined” by “Iran’s decision to stop the implementation of its nuclear-related commitments under the JCPOA.” An IAEA report in August 2021 noted that Iran was enriching uranium at 60%, well above the 3.67% cap in the JCPOA. Highly enriched uranium at 90% purity is required for nuclear weapons development.
- Israel Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, who has opposed any kind of deal with Iran, said, "We hope the world does not blink, but if it does, we do not intend to. … There may also be disagreements with the best of our friends. It would not be the first time. In any event, even if there is a return to the JCPOA, Israel obviously is not a party to the agreement and is not obligated by it. … We will maintain our freedom of action.”
Our take: a united front
