Joint Comprehensive Plan Of Action: International agreement on the nuclear program of Iran

The JCPOA talks started in November 2013 with the Joint Plan of Action. This was a temporary agreement signed by Iran and the P5+1 nations. For about 20 months, Iran and the P5+1 countries talked and talked until they made a plan for the final agreement in April 2015. Then, in July 2015, Iran and the P5+1 countries said 'yes' to the plan, which is now called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

The JCPOA was a deal where Iran agreed to take apart a large part of their nuclear program and let international inspectors check their nuclear sites more often. In return, they were promised to get rid of many of the punishments (called sanctions) that other countries had placed on them. This deal was meant to ease concerns about Iran developing nuclear weapons, which could be dangerous for global security. By allowing more oversight and limiting their nuclear activities, Iran aimed to show that their nuclear program was peaceful and not intended for weapons. In exchange, they expected economic benefits from lifted sanctions, such as being able to trade more freely with other nations and access to frozen assets abroad.

The JCPOA, which started in January 2016, puts limits on Iran's nuclear activities meant for peaceful purposes. The main players in these talks were the big five countries in the UN Security Council (China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States) plus Germany, known together as the P5+1. The European Union (EU) was also involved.

Some countries in the Middle East, like Saudi Arabia, felt left out of the discussions. They believed they should have been asked to join because they would be greatly affected if Iran got nuclear weapons. Israel strongly disagreed with the deal, saying it was too soft on Iran. They were worried that Iran could still secretly develop nuclear weapons, which could pose a threat to their safety.

The European countries, along with Russia and China, aimed to uphold diplomatic solutions to global conflicts and prevent nuclear proliferation. Iran, on the other hand, sought relief from economic sanctions and the ability to pursue its nuclear program for peaceful purposes, such as energy production and medical research. Throughout the negotiations, various compromises were made to address the concerns of all parties involved. These compromises formed the basis of the JCPOA, which was intended to limit Iran's nuclear activities in exchange for sanctions relief.

Some countries, like China and Germany, hoped the JCPOA would make Iran stop having nuclear weapons and increase trade and business opportunities with Iran. But some of Iran's nearby countries, like Israel, and some American lawmakers didn't trust the agreement. They thought it had big problems. The reason for that was because they thought the agreement was not strict enough. Iran, as a result, could still develop nuclear weapons if it wanted to, according to them. These nuclear weapons could then be a danger to Israel, which has bad relations with Iran.

On May 8, 2018, the United States decided to leave the agreement. This happened because President Donald Trump signed a special document called a Presidential Memorandum. This document instructed the government to impose even stricter sanctions on Iran. These sanctions were meant to make it harder for Iran to trade with other countries and access international resources like money and goods.

The reason behind this decision was that President Trump and some others believed that the agreement with Iran wasn't strong enough. They thought Iran could still develop nuclear weapons despite the deal. So, they wanted to put more pressure on Iran by increasing the sanctions. This move was controversial because it meant breaking the agreement that had been made with Iran and other countries. It also raised concerns about the stability of international agreements and relationships between nations.

Washington and Tehran have both said they would return to the original deal, but they disagree on the steps to get there.

When uranium is processed or "enriched," it becomes useful for nuclear purposes. This process involves increasing the amount of a specific type of uranium called U-235. This is done using machines called centrifuges, which spin really fast.

 

There are different levels of enrichment:

• Low-enriched uranium, with around 3-5% U-235, is used for making fuel for nuclear power plants.
• Highly enriched uranium, with over 20% U-235, is used in special reactors for scientific research.
• Weapons-grade uranium is very highly enriched, with over 90% U-235, and is used for making nuclear weapons.

Before the agreement in 2015, Iran had two places where it enriched uranium - Natanz and Fordo. They were running thousands of centrifuges to do this.

Under the JCPOA, Iran agreed to limit its uranium enrichment. They could only use a specific number of centrifuges, and only the older and less efficient ones, until 2026. This was part of a deal made in 2015 to control Iran's nuclear activities.

So basically, the agreement aimed to make sure Iran didn't make highly enriched uranium that could be used for nuclear weapons. It restricted the number and quality of centrifuges Iran could use for enriching uranium, helping to keep things peaceful and safe.