Link to article: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/12/14/irans-rouhani-no-conditions-or-negotiations-on-nuclear-deal
Iran refuses to negotiate its nuclear missiles program as President-elect Joe Biden moves to reinstate the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). President Donald Trump abandoned the agreement in 2018 and levied harsh economic sanctions against Iran instead. Hassan Rouhani, Iran’s president, said he is sure that Trump’s economic sanctions will be lifted once Biden takes office, and that Iran is planning to produce above its previous 2.8 million barrels of oil per day record.
Rouhani said in a news conference that the JCPOA is not open for negotiation. He wants their missile program to be separate from any nuclear deal. Rouhani denied the chance to speak to the incoming Biden administration because he refuses to accept any “pre-conditions”. He also mentioned that Biden has intimate knowledge with the agreement because he was Vice President when they instated it.
If the JCPOA is reinstated, Iran and the US will, at least partially, agree on how to move forward with a nuclear arms deal.
Regionally, Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, an Iranian top nuclear scientist, was recently assassinated. Iran suspects that Israel was responsible. The two countries, along with the Middle East as a whole, have been at odds with each other over the development of nuclear weapons, because nuclear weapons mean power and control.
Israel is not known to have nuclear weapons. The country is likely trying to stop or limit Iran’s nuclear weapons since they do not have equal power.
If Israel was responsible for the assasination of Fakhrizadeh, the country’s actions support the realist theory, because it is acting in its own self interest.
Additionally, Iran being open to reinstating the JCPOA is an example of reciprocity. Iran’s economy has been experiencing major economic sanctions under Trump. Iran will agree to accept some limitations on its nuclear program in exchange for lessened or no sanctions under the Biden administration.