BAKU, Azerbaijan, December 24. The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the deal on Iran’s nuclear program, is held hostage by different factions, said Hasan Beheshtipour, Iranian analysts on international affair, Trend reports.
According to Beheshtipour, Iran and the US need to agree for the JCPOA to be revived. But he sees little chance of that happening soon under the leadership of Ebrahim Raisi in Iran and Joe Biden in the US.
He also said that the current Iranian government, which took office in August 2021, only wants the sanctions on Iran to be lifted. But he argued that the JCPOA involves more than that, such as diplomacy, security, military and legal issues.
The analysts added that if these issues are ignored and only the sanctions are discussed, there will be endless debates that the other side will not comprehend.
Beheshtipour also pointed out that that some groups in the US oppose the JCPOA on Iran’s nuclear program. He predicted that the US government might follow their lead after the recent developments in the Middle East.
On January 16, 2016, Iran's nuclear program triggered the creation of the JCPOA between Iran and the P5+1 group (US, Russia, China, UK, France, and Germany).
However, on May 8, 2018, the US announced its withdrawal from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) between Iran and the 5+1 group (Russia, China, the UK, France, the US, and Germany) and imposed new sanctions against Iran as of November 2018.
Over the past period, the sanctions affected Iranian oil exports and more than 700 banks, companies, and individuals. The sanctions have resulted in the freezing of Iranian assets abroad.
Iran is currently looking for various ways to resume discussions with the other parties regarding its nuclear program and eventually restore the JCPOA.
In discussions on the nuclear program, Iran is mainly trying to achieve the abolition of sanctions imposed by the US and Western countries, the removal of its funds frozen abroad, and the abolition of the restriction on the export of crude oil. In return, the US and Western countries want Iran not to acquire an atomic bomb, to keep its nuclear program under control, and to reduce the level of uranium enrichment.
In late 2020, the Iranian parliament decided to implement a strategic plan to tackle the sanctions, citing the non-implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) signed between Iran and six countries and the imposition of sanctions on Iran. According to the decision of the Iranian parliament, as of February 23, Iran suspended the implementation of additional steps and an additional protocol provided for in the nuclear deal. As a result, the control mechanism of the IAEA decreased by 20–30 percent.