Iran FM Say JCPOA Can Be Resurrected, But Potential For Stalemate

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif stated in a speech to a Rome conference via videolink that his country would be willing to roll back a law approved on Wednesday that bans UN observers from its nuclear sites and obliges an increase in uranium enrichment in breach of the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA, also known as the Iran nuclear deal).

• US President-Elect Joe Biden has stated that he would be willing to have the US re-join the JCPOA as long as Iran was in compliance with the agreement's stipulations on halting its nuclear programme.
• Javad today stated that Iran would "go back to full compliance" with the agreement if the US removed sanctions imposed on Iran since President Trump took the US out of the agreement in 2018.
• These two statements, while initially seeming like progress, could result in a stalemate, though. The US may not remove sanctions until Iran is in full compliance and has rescinded its actions in nuclear development that have taken place since 2018. However, Iran may not rescind its actions and become compliant until the US has removed sanctions.