President Obama has been clear that achieving a peaceful resolution that prevents Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon will make the United States, our allies, and our world safer.
When President Obama took office he underscored that the United States was prepared to resolve this issue diplomatically – but only if Iran came to the table in a serious way. When that did not happen, we rallied the world to impose the toughest sanctions in history—sanctions that had a profound impact on the Iranian economy.
Sanctions alone could not stop Iran’s nuclear program. But they did help bring Iran to the negotiating table. Because of our diplomatic efforts, the world stood with us, and we were joined at the negotiating table by the world’s major powers – the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Russia, and China, as well as the European Union.
The goal: Reaching a long-term diplomatic resolution that verifiably prevents Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.
In November 2013, the P5+1 and Iran took an important first step toward that goal with the Joint Plan of Action (JPOA), which halted the progress of Iran’s program and rolled back it back in key areas for the first time in nearly a decade. The IAEA has verified that Iran has met all of its obligations under the JPOA.
After many months of principled diplomacy building on the JPOA, we have achieved a framework for a Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
The P5+1 – the United States, the United Kingdom, France, China, Russia and Germany – in coordination with the European Union secured a framework for a Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) that lays out various solutions to be included in a long-term, comprehensive understanding with Iran. The JCPOA will verifiably prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon and ensure that Iran’s nuclear program will be exclusively peaceful going forward.
This JCPOA will work by:
Increasing the time it would take Iran to acquire enough fissile material for one bomb from an estimated 2-3 months to at least 1 year if Iran dashed for a bomb
Reducing Iran’s stockpiles of enriched uranium
Reducing the number of Iran’s installed centrifuges by two-thirds
Limiting the types of centrifuges that Iran can use to enrich uranium
Preventing Iran from producing weapons-grade plutonium that could be used for a bomb
Tracking Iran’s nuclear activities with unprecedented transparency and robust inspections throughout its nuclear supply chain
The Deal Would Shut Down Iran’s Uranium Enrichment Pathway to a Weapon
Prior to the implementation of the Joint Plan of Action (JPOA) that was reached in November 2013, Iran had a stockpile of 20% enriched uranium, a type of fissile material that can more easily be converted into weapons-grade uranium.
Thanks to that JPOA, that stockpile has been significantly reduced. The new JCPOA framework will reduce this 20% enriched uranium to zero; reduce Iran’s low-enriched uranium stockpile by 98%; reduce the number of Iran’s centrifuges that are currently installed by two-thirds; and limit the types of centrifuges that Iran can use to enrich uranium. That means the pathway to a bomb through highly enriched uranium will be shut down.
The Deal Will Cut Off All 4 of Iran’s Potential Pathways to a Bomb
In fact, this deal ensures that any attempts by Iran to overtly or covertly misuse fissile material to produce a nuclear bomb will be blocked.
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