Nuclear agreement with Iran: all important information on the nuclear program explained in simple terms

The nuclear deal with Iran was recently canceled by Donald Trump. This article tells you what it says and what consequences are to be expected after the current events.

Content of the nuclear deal with Iran

The nuclear deal between the United States and Iran is a hot topic again in the media. The main part of the deal is that Iran is massively reducing its nuclear program. In return, the contractual partners Germany, Great Britain, France, Russia, the USA and China as well as the EU undertook to suspend all economic sanctions against the country.

• Iran's nuclear program was designed to increasingly supply the country with electricity from nuclear energy. However, the United States, in particular, has repeatedly been suspected of using the enriched uranium to attempt to build atomic bombs.
• In 2004, the developer of the Pakistani nuclear weapons program claimed to have sold plans to the Iranian government. However, this still denies that it wants to build nuclear weapons.
• When the Islamic Republic announced in 2010 that it wanted to enrich its uranium to 20%, numerous sanctions followed from the West. To build an atomic bomb, a uranium enriched to 85% is necessary. To prevent Iran from further developing the fissile material, the USA and then the EU imposed economic embargoes, which hit the country's oil industry particularly hard.
• With the 2015 agreement, these sanctions were history - until now.

Why did Donald Trump cancel the nuclear deal?

US President Donald Trump has announced his plans many times in the past. He never really wanted this agreement, which his predecessor Obama signed.

• His biggest criticism is that the deal is temporary. After a few years from the end of the contract, Iran could do what it wanted anyway. It is not a long-term solution.
• He also doubts the effect of the deal on the Iranian government's foreign policy. These want to establish the state as the strongest regional power in the Middle East. The Western sanctions do not meet these aspirations.
• The building of other dangerous weapons is also not discussed. Ballistic missile and bomb development programs are unaffected by nuclear agreements.
• On May 8, Trump therefore announced that he would quit the agreement entirely. The sanctions should be carried out again in a few months. Those parts of the atomic deal that hit the other contracting parties remain in place.

War or peace - these developments can now be expected

The overall situation in the Middle East has been very tense for years. Now the first thing to do is to wait for the reactions from the Iranian government. President Rohani responded very pragmatically to the termination of the agreement. He wanted to check the continuation of the agreement.

• Other voices from Iranian domestic politics strike quite different tones here. Some hardliners now want to get out of the contract with the other partners and start uranium enrichment again.
• The worst development to fear is that Iran will also withdraw from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. This treaty, signed by 191 states, prohibits the building or acquisition of nuclear weapons.
• The target of such a nuclear attack would probably be Israel's chosen archenemy. Since the founding of Israel on May 14, 1948, Iran has committed itself to resisting the Jewish state. The reason for this is the "inhumane genocide" of Palestinians in their homeland.