The Iran Nuclear Deal Finalized

On July 14, 2015 in Vienna, Austria, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), also known as the Iran nuclear deal was agreed upon by Iran and the members of “P5+1 countries” or the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council: China, France, Russia, United Kingdom, United States and Germany. Negotiations for the agreement started in November 2013. It took almost two years for the countries involved to arrive at an amicable final agreement.

Under the JCPOA, Iran agreed to reduce 2/3 of its installed chemical centrifuges. All excess centrifuges will be kept in monitored storage areas. Iran also agreed that in the next 15 years, it will not enrich uranium over 3.67 percent, build new facilities that can be used to enrich uranium and reduce its current stockpile of low-enriched uranium form 10,000 kilograms to 300 kg.

The JCPOA gives emphasis on the need for transparency and constant monitoring that will exist between Iran and the other countries involved. Assigned inspectors will have constant access to assess every operating centrifuge in Iran as well as other nuclear activities. If Iran will fail to abide with the points identified under the JCPOA, it will receive sanctions accordingly.

The timeframe given for the agreement is 15 years. For the first 10 years, Iran should perform long-term interventions toward fulfilling everything that was agreed upon. The following years will be used for enhancement and maintenance of what has already been established in the past decade. Monitoring and inspections may be expected to exceed the 15 year limit as the ultimate inspection of Iran’s uranium supply chain will happen in 25 years. Even after the plan of action is already completed, Iran will continue to be a part of the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty which will still prohibit Iran from developing and acquiring nuclear weapons.

Iran’s current Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, is satisfied with how everything turned out especially that he was able to get western countries to recognize Iran’s right to have a peaceful nuclear program. The gradual change in the country’s nuclear activities is a big difference from what the U.N. initially wanted an immediate and complete halt to Iran’s nuclear activities.

The people who will mainly be affected by the JCPOA are the people of Iran. Although they have different views about the deal and the decisions made by their leader in their behalf, many are hopeful that the Iran nuclear deal will somehow make the country less volatile and unstable.