US President Barack Obama addresses the School of International Service at American University in Washington, D.C., regarding the Iran nuclear agreement under consideration in Congress on August 5, 2015. Pete Marovich/Bloomberg/Getty Images
Since US President Donald Trump exited the 2015 nuclear agreement with Iran, he has ridiculed the “decaying” and “rotten” accord negotiated by his predecessor.
The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) from the Obama administration limited Iran’s uranium enrichment for 15 years and allowed UN-led inspections to confirm Tehran’s compliance with the agreement, in return for partially lifting sanctions on Iranian oil resources and unblocking billions in assets.
The agreement received extensive global backing, but faced opposition from certain lawmakers in the US and Israel. In a speech to the US Congress, Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu emphasized that the agreement allowed a significant portion of Iran’s military strength to remain.
Trump withdrew from the JCPOA in 2018 during his initial term as president. Other parties attempted to uphold the agreement, but Iran ultimately breached the terms and the deal collapsed.
In February, following US-Israeli strikes on Tehran that interrupted sensitive negotiations for a new nuclear deal and Iran’s retaliatory actions, hopes for reaching a revised agreement started to unravel.
The White House has consistently insisted that Iran halt all uranium enrichment and give up its stockpile of near-bomb-grade material, which Tehran is unwilling to do. At the same time, Iran aims to preserve its control over shipping in the crucial Strait of Hormuz and put an end to debilitating economic sanctions.
On Sunday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi delivered a proposal to Pakistani mediators aimed at resolving the conflict and restoring the blocked waterway – while not responding to the US president’s request for Tehran to relinquish its nuclear program.
One day later, sources informed Xenix News that Trump was improbable to agree to Iran’s most recent offer.
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