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Updated November 2025
We provide answers to your questions about Iran’s nuclear activities and the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) or Iran nuclear deal.
For more information about nuclear weapons in the Middle East, check out our FAQ.
Photo: U.S. State Department
Is the 2015 nuclear deal still in force?
The Iran nuclear deal or JCPOA expired on October 18, 2025 and Iran announced it would no longer be bound by its terms. This followed the UN Security Council decision not to renew the suspension of sanctions on Iran under the agreement following alleged non-compliance by Tehran; what was called the “snapback” procedure. This move was initiated by the three European countries that were party to the agreement: France, Germany and the United Kingdom. The other parties to the agreement, China and Russia, opposed this, but were unable to muster enough votes in the Security Council to prevent it.
What did the 2015 Iran nuclear deal do?
Put simply, the Iran nuclear deal imposed limits on the Iranian nuclear programme in exchange for sanctions relief. More specifically, the agreement blocked Iran’s access to the enriched uranium and plutonium required to make nuclear weapons by imposing lots of time-bound limits, including on the number and type of centrifuges it could possess to enrich uranium, its stockpile of enriched uranium and heavy-water, and a time-bound ban on heavy-water reactors in Iran. Some provisions of the deal were permanent, including extensive access for international nuclear inspectors.
Why did the agreement fail?
In reality the agreement had been falling apart for several years following United States President Donald Trump’s decision during his first term to leave the agreement in 2018 and reimpose unilateral sanctions on Tehran. In the years following this, Iran had gradually violated the deal to put diplomatic pressure on the other parties to the deal to push the US to respect the agreement.
Attempts to negotiate a new agreement between the United States and Iran had been underway, but were abruptly halted after Israel and the United States illegally bombed Iran in June 2025, targeting nuclear facilities, ballistic missile factories, senior military commanders and nuclear scientists. It was following these attacks that the three European countries initiated the “snapback” process, arguing it would put pressure on Iran to return to negotiations. Instead it led to the end of the deal.
Did Iran comply with the 2015 nuclear deal?
Starting in July 2019, Iran took a number of steps that violated the agreement. Iran increased its enrichment of uranium-235 to 60% and 20% instead of the 3.67% agreed to under the JCPOA and exceeded the limit on its uranium stockpile agreed to under the JCPOA. It also installed and operated centrifuges in excess of JCPOA limits and re-started enrichment at the Fordow facility. In addition, while before the U.S. and Israeli strikes in June 2025, Iran was complying with its Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement with the IAEA, since February 2021, Iran stopped implementing the other monitoring measures agreed to in the JCPOA. Following the Israeli and U.S. strikes, Iran halted cooperation with the IAEA, although in September 2025, Iran reached an agreement with the IAEA to resume some form of cooperation, without specifying the details of the agreement.
Some Iranian politicians have publicly called for Iran to leave the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and develop nuclear weapons in response to the Israeli and US attacks, and some analysts have warned that military action and more sanctions on Iran could lead to it deciding to develop nuclear weapons.
Is Iran going to develop nuclear weapons now?
The United States and the IAEA continue to assess that Iran is not currently pursuing weapons-related activities. Steps towards the capacity to produce nuclear weapons are still very concerning, including Iran’s enrichment of uranium to higher levels and rejection of international inspections. Resurrecting the 2015 Iran nuclear deal or negotiating a new agreement to reduce the risk of Iran developing nuclear weapons would be a positive step. But all countries must acknowledge that any country that relies on humanity-ending weapons in their security doctrines only makes the world less safe - and take steps to get rid of them. The 2017 Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons offers a path forward to reject these weapons once and for all, multilaterally, and in a verified manner, and all countries should join this treaty without delay.