US-Iran may end up finalising nuke deal similar to one that Trump abandoned: Report

The United States and Iran are reportedly getting closer to an agreement aimed at reining in Tehran’s nuclear activities. According to a report from Reuters, this potential deal might not be very different from the 2015 nuclear agreement, one that US President Donald Trump unilaterally abandoned.

Eight officials and diplomats from all sides involved in the talks, who chose to remain anonymous, shared details that haven’t been reported before. They said that the current discussions are leading towards something quite similar to the original deal that the US withdrew from in 2018.

US-Iran talks going on

In a short period of just three weeks, the US and Iran have held three rounds of talks. The main goal of these discussions is to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon, and in return, Iran would receive relief from some of the sanctions that have been imposed on it. A fourth round of these talks is expected to take place soon in Rome.

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The move by the US to suddenly start negotiating with Iran in April came as a surprise to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He had travelled to Washington to seek the backing of the US president for possible military actions against Iran’s nuclear facilities. However, just a day before a planned joint press conference at the White House, four sources familiar with the situation told Reuters that Netanyahu learned that the US and Iran would begin talks within a few days.

JCPOA-2 on the cards?

Eight sources have indicated that the initial framework being discussed is based on the main parts of the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

However, this potential new agreement could extend the duration of the restrictions to 25 years. It would also include stricter ways to check if Iran is following the rules and expand what are known as “sunset clauses.” These clauses mean that certain restrictions on Iran’s nuclear programme would be paused after a certain period, but not completely removed.

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Terms and conditions for Iran

Under the terms that are reportedly being discussed, Iran would agree to limit the amount of nuclear material it has and the types of centrifuges it uses. It would also dilute, send out of the country, or seal its stock of uranium that is enriched to 60 per cent. This would all be done under very close monitoring by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), an international organisation that oversees nuclear activities. In exchange for these steps, Iran would receive significant relief from the sanctions that have been imposed on it, according to all the sources.

While Israel is insisting that Iran should not be allowed to enrich uranium at all, Iran has stated that its right to enrich uranium is not something it is willing to negotiate. However, three Iranian officials have said that the amount of uranium Iran can keep, the possibility of sending some of it out of the country, and the number of centrifuges Iran can operate are all topics under discussion.

The sources explained that these proposals do not aim to completely dismantle Iran’s nuclear infrastructure, as Israel and some US officials would prefer. Instead, the goal is to establish long-term restrictions on Iran’s uranium enrichment activities to prevent it from quickly developing a nuclear weapon.

According to the report, Iran has even suggested the idea of selling enriched uranium to the United States.

Currently, Iran operates approximately 15,000 centrifuges. Under the JCPOA, Iran was allowed to operate around 6,000 centrifuges.