Negotiations leading to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action

A Pentagon official is being eyed by US authorities over the leak of documents that revealed scenarios Israel is considering for its attack response to Iran.

Late last month, as part of its monitoring of Iran's nuclear program, the International Atomic Energy Agency reported trace amounts of uranium at 84% enrichment. That's important, because 90% enrichment is required to produce a nuclear weapon.

The United States and Iran said on April 3 they will begin indirect negotiations with intermediaries next week to try to get both countries back into compliance with an accord limiting Iran's nuclear program, nearly three years after President Donald Trump pulled the U.S. out of the deal.

Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said on Jan. 29 that he hopes the Biden administration would return to the nuclear deal and lift sanctions on Iran.

Speaking at a joint news conference with his Iranian counterpart Javad Zarif in Istanbul, Çavuşoğlu said that Turkey has always supported the nuclear deal that was reached by the U.S., EU and Iran.

Germany, France and Great Britain fought fiercely for the nuclear treaty with Iran, which was signed five years ago. Since the end of 2018, since Trump left the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), or the Nuclear Weapon Ban Treaty, its stability has been in question, reports Deutsche Welle.

Iran has moved to stop UN inspections of its nuclear sites and step up uranium enrichment under a new law approved by its parliament.

 The bill would require the government to resume enriching uranium to 20% - well above the 3.67% agreed under a 2015 nuclear deal - if crippling sanctions are not eased in two months.

Tehran is ready to negotiate on various aspects of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action if Washington returns to the agreement. Iranian Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Majid Takht-Ravanchi, told TASS.

According to him, it is better for the United States to return to the plan and to the negotiations. In that case, Iran will be ready for discussions.

Iran on Sept. 4 said it would take another step away from a 2015 nuclear deal by starting to develop centrifuges to speed up its uranium enrichment but it also gave European powers two more months to try to save the multilateral pact.

Iran is not interested in negotiating with Washington, but if there is mediation, it should focus on the US returning to the 2015 nuclear deal, which they left last year. This was stated by Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, quoted by BTA.

The United States on July 31 imposed sanctions on Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, targeting the country's top spokesman and potentially hurting chances of diplomatic talks amid rising tensions between the two countries.