Statement from Nonproliferation Specialists in Support of Restoring Compliance with...

The 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) is an effective, verifiable agreement that successfully addressed a decades-long crisis over Iran’s nuclear program and is a net plus for international and U.S. nuclear nonproliferation efforts. This multilateral nuclear deal was unanimously endorsed by the UN Security Council in Resolution 2231, which urges full implementation of the JCPOA and calls upon member states to refrain from actions that undermine the agreement. We strongly encourage the prompt and successful conclusion of negotiations involving U.S. and Iranian diplomats in coordination with the other parties to the JCPOA to restore Iranian and U.S. compliance with the 2015 agreement. The JCPOA dramatically reduces the risk posed by Iran’s nuclear program and advances the security interests of the United States, its European partners, states in the region, and the entire international community. The JCPOA establishes stringent limitations on Iran’s uranium  enrichment program through the end of this decade and effectively eliminates Iran’s ability to produce and separate plutonium. Just as importantly, the JCPOA mandates unprecedented International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) monitoring, verification, and transparency measures that make it very likely that any possible future effort by Iran to pursue nuclear weapons, even a clandestine program, would be detected promptly. Taken together, the array of restrictions imposed on Iran would make it extremely difficult for Tehran to amass enough weapons-grade uranium for even one nuclear bomb without being detected if were to try to do so.

Here