WASHINGTON, April 11. /TASS/. The United States and Iran are unlikely to bring back the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) on the Iranian nuclear program, The Washington Post newspaper wrote.
The plan has been criticized by US President Donald Trump, who called the JCPOA one of the worst deal in the US history, and Iran may not be willing to go back to previous limits as it has made great strides in its nuclear program since Trump withdrew the US from the agreement, the paper said.
If the US and Iranian sides can come to terms on the acceptable scale of Iran’s nuclear program during their talks in Oman, they could hold direct discussions and talk about the technical details of the agreement in the future, said Ali Vaez, a US expert on Iran and Middle Eastern affairs. However, he noted that if negotiations fall apart, further sanctions will be imposed on Iran, leading to a scenario where Iran could withdraw from the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.
The first round of consultations between the delegations of Iran and the US on resolving the situation around the Iranian nuclear program will be held in Oman on April 12. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and US Special Presidential Envoy Steve Witkoff will be the main negotiators. According to Iran, the parties won’t engage in direct talks as negotiations will be mediated by Oman. The White House, in turn, said that the upcoming event could be described as a direct discussion.
Tehran insists on finalizing the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, proposing to include provisions for imposing penalties on any party that withdraws from the agreement in the future. The US, on the other hand, demands not only measures to halt the military aspect of Iran’s nuclear program but also the complete dismantling of all nuclear facilities. Additionally, Washington insists that Tehran end its support for allies in the Middle East and restrict its ballistic missile development program. Iran strongly opposes any attempts to curtail its foreign policy and defense capabilities, asserting its right to develop civilian nuclear power.
Issue of Iran's nuclear program
In 2015, Iran, along with Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia, and the United States, signed the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), resolving a crisis that began in 2002 amid Western accusations that Tehran was seeking nuclear weapons. However, in 2018, Trump announced the US exit from the JCPOA and reinstated all sanctions against Iran.
In response, Iran declared in 2020 that it would scale back its commitments under the JCPOA and restrict access for International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors. Negotiations aimed at reviving the nuclear deal, held in Vienna from 2021 to 2022, ended without a resolution. Upon returning to the White House in 2025, Trump signed an executive order to reintroduce a policy of maximum pressure on Iran, threatening military action if Tehran did not agree to a new deal with Washington.
On March 7, Trump stated that he had sent a message to Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, offering to hold talks regarding the nuclear program. Tehran refused to engage in direct dialogue with the US but allowed discussions to proceed through intermediaries.
On October 18, Western countries will have the opportunity to trigger a mechanism to automatically reinstate UN Security Council sanctions against Tehran. Iran has indicated that it would then withdraw from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, although the development of nuclear weapons is officially prohibited by a 2003 decree from Khamenei.