On September 16, 2024, the president of Iran, Masoud Pezeshkian, held a press conference in Tehran, Iran in which he states that if the United States of America shows that it is not hostile to the Islamic Republic, then Iran would be open to reinstate the 2015 nuclear pact that between the two countries. The 2015 nuclear pact is a Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) where Iran restricted its nuclear programs and allowed sanctions and inspections by the P5, Germany, and the EU. This ensured Iran’s nuclear development remained peaceful. After 12-months, restrictions by the UN and EU would be lifted. In 2018, then President Donald Trump argued that the terms of the deal were not strict enough for Iran and reinstated the sanctions and restrictions, withdrawing the United States from the JCPOA. This led Iran to break the agreed nuclear limits of the JCPOA. In 2021, President Joe Biden hoped to revive the nuclear pact by giving Iran relief from the United States, EU, and UN after agreeing to restrict its nuclear programs. However Iran refused to directly negotiate with the United States, instead Iran worked through European and Arab intermediaries.
I think this article is important considering Iran refused to revive the nuclear pact in 2021 and now is open to negotiate with the United States. Iran currently has 6201.3 kg of uranium which is over the original agreed amount of 202.8 kg. I think that the comment about the United States being hostile to the Islamic Republic will create tension between the U.S. and Iran if negotiation takes place. I think this conference will open up opportunities for the discussion of a diplomatic relationship between Iran and the United States which we haven’t seen since 1980.
Since the United States has been open to reviving the deal, I believe that the United States will try to negotiate reviving the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran again after the press conference. Since Iran brought up the idea of negotiation, I would think that Iran would accept the terms but if the United States continues to be hostile towards them, it doesn’t seem like Iran will agree to the pact.
This article connects to what we learned in class by how we discussed diplomacy in class, which is the practice of managing international relations with other actors. Iran and the United States are each trying to find a way to work with one another. This article also connects to what we learned in class by how we discussed global challenges like weapons of mass destruction like nuclear weapons. With Iran having a big stockpile of uranium they pose a threat to global alliances which is why the UN and EU put restrictions and sanctions on Iran with the pact in 2015.