ABSTRACT
The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which aimed to obstruct Iran’s potential pathways to nuclear-weapons development, is in danger of falling apart. Republicans, on the other hand, believed the JCPOA made too many concessions to Iran, and that additional pressure on Iran’s economy could have achieved stronger constraints. As the Republican candidate in the 2016 presidential election, Donald Trump made his opposition to the JCPOA a key campaign issue, calling it the ‘worst deal ever’ and vowing to terminate the agreement if elected. On 8 May 2018, Trump ceased waiving sanctions as required under the JCPOA and announced his decision to withdraw from the deal altogether. Iran’s nuclear-weapons development and its failure to report various nuclear activities violated its commitments under the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, or Non-Proliferation Treaty as it is better known. The chapter also presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in this book.
