https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/17618/us-iranian-nuclear-talks-unglued
One significant aspect of a newly invigorated JCPOA is whether the International Atomic Energy Association (IAEA) would be granted total access to known and suspected Iranian sites associated with the Islamic Republic’s nuclear program. Better not count on it.
Part of the problem may have been the new Iranian presidency, which began last week, of a Ebrahim Raisi, “the Butcher,” apparently a destruction machine who reportedly murdered thousands of Iranians, some of whom were not even sentenced to death… Although it is Iran’s Supreme Guide Ayatollah Ali Khamenei who makes all final decisions, the US, to its credit, seems to have concluded that no deal just now would be better than “any” deal.
It now looks as of Iran may be happier with no agreement, and just sprint for unlimited nuclear capability without any Western strings attached. There also apparently exists, with good reason, insufficient trust on the Western side that the Islamic Republic would ever actually be in compliance.
Negotiators at the Vienna-based talks on re-establishing the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) have reportedly drafted an agreement and returned to their respective capitals, apparently in the hopes of securing an endorsement for the revived “nuclear deal” with Iran, which by the way Iran never signed. While some differences still remain, the P5+1 nations (the US, UK, France, Russia, China and Germany) were trying to restore the JCPOA deal before the new Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi took office last week.
President Biden’s negotiating team, to win the support of Iran’s hardline dominated regime, had reportedly agreed to a substantial lifting of Trump administration-imposed sanctions on Iran.
The JCPOA, which was falsely touted as preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons capability, had in reality only postponed it a bit; and never addressed at all Iran’s manufacture of ballistic missiles to deliver such nuclear weapons.