Iran Nuclear Deal

Why in the News?

Recently, Western diplomats have set a deadline to revive the 2015 Iran Nuclear Deal, signed under President Barack Obama. 

• The Iran nuclear deal was dismantled in 2018 by President Donald Trump.

Probable Question

The efforts towards revival of the Iran Nuclear deal augurs well for India’s interests in the Middle- East. Comment

Key Points

About Iran Nuclear Deal or Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA):

• JCPOA is a landmark accord signed between Iran and a coalition of world powers (collectively known as P5 + 1) to limit the nuclear program of Iran.
  • P5 + 1 includes the US, the UK, China, Russia, France, and Germany.
• The deal limited the number of centrifuges Iran can run and restricted it to an older, slower model. 
• It granted more access to International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors and allowed it to inspect other sites as well.
• Fifteen years after the deal, restrictions on Iran’s uranium enrichment and stockpile size will end.
• The world powers wanted to restrict Iran’s nuclear capabilities to the point that it would take Tehran at least a year to build a weapon, giving them adequate time to prepare and respond.
  • Before the agreement, analysts estimated that Iran had reached a point from where it could build a weapon in approximately three months.
• In essence, the deal aimed at eliminating Iran’s stockpiles of enriched Uranium and Plutonium (needed to produce a nuclear weapon).

Also read: How to Prepare International Relations for UPSC Mains

What did Iran get from the deal?

• As part of the deal, the world powers decided to lift the economic sanctions that had kept Iran away from international banking and the global oil trade. 
• It allowed Iran to make purchases of commercial aircraft and reach other business deals. 
• It also unfroze billions of dollars that Iran had overseas.

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Revival of Deal & Its Implications for India

• India hopes the removal of sanctions with the revival of the deal will make it easier and economical for companies to send shipments to Iran.
• Many of the big Indian pharmaceutical and textile businesses were reluctant to deal with Iran due to the sanctions. With the deal revival, Indian companies can invest there which can boost Indian exports.
• Normalization of ties between the US and Iran will help India to procure cheap Iranian oil and aid in energy security.
• The revival of the deal will revive India’s interest in the Chabahar Port which will give a boost to regional connectivity.
  • Further, India’s involvement in Chabahar Port will neutralize the Chinese presence in Gwadar port, Pakistan.
• India has been a founder of the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) since its ratification in 2002.
  •  INSTC starts from Iran and aims to cut right across Central Asia to Russia over a 7,200-km multi-mode network, cutting down transportation and time taken by trade by about 30%.
  • Plans for INSTC will speed up if the JCPOA gets revived and sanctions on Iran get lifted.

News Source: The Indian Express

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