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The Revival of the Iran Nuclear Deal is One Step Closer

The Revival of the Iran Nuclear Deal

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The United States of America has sent an official response to the Islamic Republic of Iran over the European Union’s draft proposal to resurrect the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, according to information provided by the Foreign Ministry spokesman of the Iranian government Nasser Kanaani. The Iranian government will now review the American response to the EU-drafted deal and will give an answer to Washington D.C in the coming weeks. The revival of the Iran nuclear deal seems to be on the horizon.

Ned Price, spokesperson of the State Department also confirmed that the United States has responded to the EU draft. Last week, Iran sent its comments and proposals to the potential agreement. The U.S. offer presents another milestone in the Administration’s attempts to revive Obama’s 2015 deal, which was ended in 2018 by former President Trump and after strong opposition from the Israeli government, who both argue the deal was too beneficial to the Iranian government.

The Obama deal lifted a variety of financial sanctions and weapons embargo against Iran in return for Tehran reducing its low-enriched uranium stockpiles and shutting down (but not destroying) two-thirds of their centrifuges for 10 years, and the caps on the storage of uranium would also expire 15 years after the deal was signed. These “sunsetting” clauses have been the center of much criticism by opponents of the deal, arguing that the deal doesn’t stop Iran’s nuclear program, but merely delays it.

In 2018, the United States reimposed sanctions on Iran, and Tehran has started to operate a significant number of centrifuges that could be used to develop enough material for a nuclear weapon.

While there are no public drafts of the EU draft, it appears that one of the main debating points between Iran and the United States is the former’s demands for guarantees that America will not leave the deal if there is a change in the administration in 2024. Iran dropped one of its demands last week, saying that it would no longer require international inspectors to close some probes against Iran.

Republicans and Israel rally against the revival of the Iran nuclear deal

The renewed efforts by the Biden White House will certainly sour relations between Washington D.C and Jerusalem, as the Israeli government led by Prime Minster Yair Lapid has repeatedly criticized the revival of the Iran nuclear deal and has unsuccessfully tried to convince the American government to reject the deal. Lapid has said that the deal would not prevent Iran from becoming a nuclear power and would give them access to $100 billion that Tehran could use to fund terrorist groups across the region.

Conservative politicians have also expressed deep skepticism about the revival of the deal. In fact, back in March, 49 Senate Republicans released a statement saying that they would oppose any revived nuclear deal with Iran.

Democrats and the Administration consider that the deal would be a good idea as it would delay the Iranian nuclear deal, that it would also restore credibility to the United States, and that it could help to stabilize the many conflicts in the region.

Detractors are far less bullish on the effects of a deal. An article published by the Hudson Institute Senior Fellow Jonathan Schachter argues that the agreement would give too much to Iran with almost no significant benefits to American interests. According to Schachter, the deal’s sunsetting clauses would allow Iran to continue their development of nuclear material and research, while also giving Tehran a financial influx due to the lift of the sanctions.

The reports of the increased likeliness of reviving the Iran nuclear deal come just a few weeks after it was revealed that the Iranian government-funded assassination plots to kill former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and former National Security Advisor John Bolton.

Daniel is a Political Science and Economics student from the University of South Florida. He worked as a congressional intern to Rep. Gus Bilirakis (FL-12) from January to May 2020. He also is the head of international analysis at Politiks // Daniel es un estudiante de Cs Políticas y Economía en la Universidad del Sur de la Florida. Trabajo como pasante legislativo para el Representate Gus Bilirakis (FL-12) desde enero hasta mayo del 2020. Daniel también es el jefe de análisis internacional de Politiks.

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