Iran - EP 5

The 14 June 2013 election of Hassan Rouhani to the presidency of Iran significantly transformed the political dynamics of the Iranian sanctions regime. Pledging to keep Iran’s nuclear program ongoing (but with greater transparency), Rouhani declared three days after his inauguration that serious negotiations with the E3+3 should be resumed. On 26 September 2013, Foreign Minister Javad Zarif met with his E3+3 counterparts on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in September and began to discuss basic parameters for negotiations. One day later, a telephone conversation was arranged between US President Barack Obama and Hassan Rouhani, strengthening the momentum for negotiations. In the months that followed, numerous meetings took place between the negotiating parties, and between them and the IAEA.

On 24 November 2013, a Joint Plan of Action was announced in Geneva, which provided guidance for the parties as they sought to achieve a comprehensive solution. For an initial period of six months, Iran committed to pause further developments in its program, roll back some of its key elements (like the stockpile of 20% enriched uranium) and to accept more extensive monitoring from the IAEA. In return, Iran received the suspension of some international sanctions (not UN sanctions), repatriation of some assets frozen abroad, commitments to halt the efforts to reduce Iranian oil exports, and a pledge that no new sanctions will be imposed.

On 20 January 2014, the implementation of the Joint Plan of Action began as the IAEA reported on Iran’s compliance with the agreement and the United States and the European Union announced they took the necessary measures to implement the sanctions waiver announced the previous November. Throughout 2014 and the first half of 2015, several rounds of negotiation took place as the terms of the Joint Plan of Action were extended twice. In April 2015, the parties agreed to a framework agreement that would guide the drafting of a final deal.

On 14 July 2015, Iran and the E3+3 announced they reached a long-term agreement, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). The deal was the culmination of a changed approach to the Iranian nuclear issue on both sides and established provisions for the monitoring and regulation of Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for the suspension or termination of all international sanctions targeting it. These included the elimination of Iran’s stockpile of medium-enriched uranium and 98% of its low-enriched uranium. Iran’s nuclear facilities would be converted to respond to proliferation concerns and intrusive verification mechanisms would be established by the IAEA. In return, UN, EU and unilateral targeted sanctions addressing Iran’s nuclear program would be suspended or lifted. With regards to UN sanctions, a special procurement channel for nuclear-related goods would be set up and other measures unrelated to the nuclear program would remain in place, including individual sanctions, the arms embargo and restrictions on ballistic missile technology.

On 20 July 2015, the UN Security Council endorsed and incorporated the JCPOA through resolution 2231, which reproduced it in its entirety as an annex. The resolution set to terminate the provisions of previous sanctions resolutions upon the receipt of IAEA report confirming that Iran had taken the specified steps (15.1-15.11 of Annex V of the JCPOA), replacing them with restrictive measures specified in paragraphs 1, 2, 4, 5, and 6 of Annex B. It set the termination of those measures for 10 years from the day of JCPOA implementation day but included a snap-back mechanism which would come into effect if dispute resolution mechanisms failed to resolve conflicts over non-compliance with the terms of the agreement by the parties. The snapback mechanism would prompt, without a vote, the re-imposition of all UN targeted sanctions against Iran in place before the JCPOA implementation. As a result, any permanent member could halt the ongoing sanctions relief, but not veto sanctions re-imposition in case of non-compliance. The resolution included a delay of 90 days in implementation to provide time for the approval of the relevant national or regional institutions. The agreement entered into force on 18 October 2015 (JCPOA Adoption Day).

Throughout the entire negotiation process, UN targeted sanctions remained in place for their original purposes and were, together with other sanctions, an important instrument of bargaining for the E3+3 side of the negotiations. The lifting of sanctions was the central political objective of Iran in the negotiations, and the lifting of UN sanctions in particular was understood to represent a key step in the normalization of Iran’s international relations.

Mandatory

Ongoing sanctions:

• Proliferation sensitive goods and technology imports and exports ban (specific items);
• Individual / entity asset freeze;
• Travel ban;
• Arms imports (specific weapons) and exports embargo;
• Investment ban (uranium mining and nuclear material/technology).

Conditional

Ongoing conditional restrictions:

• Bunkering ban.