The Iran nuclear agreement, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), was signed in July 2015. The five permanent members of the UN Security Council, namely China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States, negotiated the agreement alongside. Germany (Together they were known as the P5+1). The deal imposed restrictions on Iran’s civilian nuclear enrichment programme, in return for lifting of economic sanctions imposed by the major powers on Iran. The sanctions were crippling Iran, drastically pushing up its inflation rate.
Iran agreed to a ten-year restriction on nuclear production and shut down thousands of centrifuges. Iran also allows strict monitoring, permitting international inspectors to gain access to sites suspected of nuclear weapons-related activities. The agreement did allow for a commercial nuclear programme “for exclusively peaceful purposes.” Though there was a broad consensus that Iran abided by the agreement, U.S. President Donald Trump called the agreement “the worst deal ever” and in May 2018, he withdrew the U.S. from the pact and restored the sanctions on Iran.
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