United States President Donald Trump has mentioned a nuclear settlement at the moment being negotiated with Iran shall be “much better” than the 2015 Joint Complete Plan of Motion (JCPOA), which he withdrew from in 2018 throughout his first time period in workplace.
The unique 2015 accord took roughly two years of negotiations to achieve and concerned lots of of specialists throughout technical and authorized fields, together with a number of US specialists. Below it, Iran agreed to limit the enrichment of uranium and to topic itself to inspections in trade for the comfort of sanctions.
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However Trump took the US out of that pact, calling it the “worst deal ever”. Earlier than the preliminary US-Israeli strikes on Iran on the finish of February, the US had made new calls for – together with extra restrictions on Tehran’s nuclear programme, the restriction of its ballistic missiles programme and an finish to its help for regional armed teams, primarily in Lebanon, Yemen and Iraq.
Trump’s newest remarks come amid rising uncertainty about whether or not a second spherical of talks will proceed within the Pakistani capital Islamabad, as a two-week ceasefire between the US-Israel and Iran approaches the tip in only a day.
So, what was the JCPOA, and the way did it examine to Trump’s new calls for?
What was the JCPOA?
On July 14, 2015, Iran reached an settlement with the European Union and 6 main powers – China, France, Russia, the UK, the US, and Germany – underneath which these states would roll again worldwide financial sanctions and permit Iran better participation within the international economic system.
In return, Tehran dedicated to limiting actions that may very well be used to provide a nuclear weapon.
These included decreasing its stockpile of enriched uranium by about 98 %, to lower than 300kg (660lb), and capping uranium enrichment at 3.67 % – far beneath weapons-grade of 90 %, however excessive sufficient for civilian functions comparable to energy technology.
Earlier than the JCPOA, Iran operated roughly 20,000 uranium-enriching centrifuges. Below the deal, that quantity was lower to a most of 6,104, and solely older-generation machines confined to 2 amenities, which have been topic to worldwide monitoring.
Centrifuges are machines which spin to extend the focus of the uranium-235 isotope – enrichment – in uranium, a key step in direction of potential bomb-making.
The deal additionally redesigned Iran’s Arak heavy water reactor to stop plutonium manufacturing and launched probably the most intrusive inspection regimes ever carried out by the worldwide nuclear watchdog, the Worldwide Atomic Power Company (IAEA).
In trade, Iran obtained aid from worldwide sanctions which had severely broken its economic system. Billions of {dollars} in frozen belongings have been launched, and restrictions on oil exports and banking have been eased.
The deal got here to halt when Trump formally withdrew Washington from the nuclear deal in 2018, a transfer extensively criticised domestically and by international allies, and regardless of the IAEA saying Iran had complied with the settlement as much as that time.
“The Iranian regime helps terrorism and exports violence, bloodshed and chaos throughout the Center East. That’s the reason we should put an finish to Iran’s continued aggression and nuclear ambitions. They haven’t lived as much as the spirit of their settlement,” he mentioned in October 2017.
He reimposed crippling financial sanctions on Tehran as a part of his “most strain” tactic. These focused Iran’s oil exports, in addition to its delivery sector, banking system and different key industries.
The objective was to drive Iran again to the negotiating desk to conform to a brand new deal, which additionally included a dialogue about Tehran’s missile capabilities, additional curbs on enrichment and extra scrutiny of its nuclear programme.
What has occurred to Iran’s nuclear programme because the JCPOA?
Throughout the JCPOA interval, Iran’s nuclear programme was tightly constrained and closely monitored. The IAEA repeatedly verified that Iran was complying with the deal’s phrases, together with one 12 months after Trump introduced the US’s withdrawal from the settlement.
Beginning in mid-2019, nevertheless, Iran started incrementally breaching the deal’s limits, exceeding caps on uranium stockpiles and enrichment ranges.
In November 2024, Iran mentioned it might activate “new and superior” centrifuges. The IAEA confirmed that Tehran had knowledgeable the nuclear watchdog that it deliberate to put in greater than 6,000 new centrifuges to complement uranium.
In December 2024, the IAEA mentioned Iran was quickly enriching uranium to 60 % purity, transferring nearer to the 90 % threshold wanted for weapons-grade materials. Most just lately, in 2025, the IAEA estimated that Iran had 440kg (970lb) of 60-percent enriched uranium.
What are Trump’s newest calls for for Iran’s nuclear programme?
The US and its ally, Israel, are pushing Iran to conform to zero uranium enrichment and have accused Iran of working in direction of constructing a nuclear weapon, whereas offering no proof for his or her claims.
Additionally they need Iran’s estimated 440kg inventory of 60pc enriched uranium to be faraway from Iran. Whereas that’s beneath weapons-grade, it’s the level at which it turns into a lot quicker to attain the 90 % enrichment wanted for atomic weapons manufacturing.
Iran has insisted its enrichment effort is for civilian functions solely. It’s a signatory to the 1970 Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT).
In March 2025, Tulsi Gabbard, the US director of nationwide intelligence, testified to Congress that the US “continues to evaluate that Iran will not be constructing a nuclear weapon”.
On Sunday, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, in a strongly worded assertion, mentioned Trump had no proper to ”deprive” Iran of its nuclear rights.
What else is Trump asking for?
Restrictions on ballistic missiles
Earlier than the US-Israel battle on Iran started, Tehran had all the time insisted negotiations needs to be completely centered on Iran’s nuclear programme.
US and Israeli calls for, nevertheless, prolonged past that. Simply earlier than the battle started, Washington and Israel demanded extreme restrictions on Iran’s ballistic missile programme.
Analysts say this demand was at the very least partly triggered by the truth that a number of Iranian missiles had breached Israel’s much-vaunted “Iron Dome” defence system in the course of the 12-day battle between the 2 international locations in June final 12 months. Whereas Israel suffered solely a handful of casualties, it’s understood to have been alarmed.
For his half, Trump has repeatedly warned, with out proof, in regards to the risks of Iran’s long-range missiles, claiming Iran is producing them “in very excessive numbers” and so they may “overwhelm the Iron Dome”.
Iran has mentioned its proper to keep up missile capabilities is non-negotiable. The JCPOA didn’t put any limits on the event of ballistic missiles.
Nonetheless, a United Nations decision made when adopting the nuclear settlement in July 2015 did stipulate that Iran couldn’t “undertake any exercise associated to ballistic missiles designed to be able to delivering nuclear weapons”.
Ending help for proxy teams
The US and Israel have additionally demanded that Iran cease supporting its non-state allies throughout the Center East, together with Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen and various teams in Iraq. Collectively, these teams are known as Iran’s “axis of resistance”.
In Might final 12 months, Trump mentioned Tehran “should cease sponsoring terror, halt its bloody proxy wars, and completely and verifiably stop pursuit of nuclear weapons”, throughout a GCC assembly in Riyadh.
Three days earlier than the battle on Iran started in February, throughout his State of the Union handle to Congress, Trump accused Iran and “its murderous proxies” of spreading “nothing however terrorism and dying and hate”.
Iran has refused to enter a dialogue about limiting its help for these armed teams.
Can Trump actually get a brand new deal that’s ‘a lot better’ than the JCPOA?
In line with Andreas Kreig, affiliate professor of Safety Research at King’s School, London, Trump is extra prone to safe a brand new deal that intently resembles the JCPOA, with “some type of restrictions on enrichment, presumably with a sundown clause, and worldwide supervision”.
“Iran would possibly get entry to frozen belongings and lifted sanctions a lot faster than underneath the JCPOA, because it is not going to conform to an extended drawn-out, gradual lifting of sanctions,” Krieg identified.
Nonetheless, he warned that the political panorama in Tehran has hardened. “Iran now could be a much more hardline and fewer pragmatic participant that can play hardball at each junction. Trump can’t depend on any goodwill in Tehran,” he mentioned.
“The IRGC is now firmly in cost… with possible new highly effective and examined levers such because the Strait of Hormuz,” he mentioned, referring to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which operates as a parallel elite army drive to the military and has an excessive amount of political and financial energy in Iran. It’s a constitutionally recognised a part of the Iranian army and solutions on to the supreme chief.
Total, Krieg harassed, the US-Israel battle on Iran “leaves the world worse off than had Trump caught to the JCPOA”, even when a brand new compromise is finally reached.
Furthermore, because the revocation of the JCPOA, the US and Israel have waged two wars on Iran, together with the present one. The 12-day battle in June final 12 months included assaults on Iran’s nuclear websites and killed greater than 1,000 individuals.
Assaults on Iran’s nuclear infrastructure have continued because the newest battle started on February 28, together with on the Natanz enrichment facility, Isfahan nuclear advanced, Arak heavy water reactor, and the Bushehr nuclear energy plant.
Nonetheless, King’s School’s Krieg mentioned there may be nonetheless room for a negotiated final result if Tehran and Washington cut back their calls for.
“Each side can compromise on enrichment thresholds, and on non permanent moratoriums on enrichments. However Iran is not going to give up its sovereignty to complement altogether, and the Trump administration must meet them midway,” he mentioned.
“Whereas the Iranians will commit on paper to not develop a nuclear weapon, they are going to wish to hold R&D [research and development] on this house alive.”
Financial incentives shall be central, he added. “Equally, Iran would wish to get rapid entry to capital and liquidity. Right here, the Trump administration is already prepared to compromise.”
