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At the same time, talks in Vienna continued in an effort to return the United States and Iran into compliance with the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the deal signed with Iran in 2015 that limited its nuclear program in return for the lifting of sanctions on the country. The current attempt by the Biden administration to return to the agreement follows on the 2018 unilateral withdrawal of former US President Donald Trump, who was highly critical of the deal. The former president’s move came after Israel revealed classified Iranian documents purported to prove that Iran was indeed pursuing nuclear weapons.After Trump stepped back from the agreement, the Islamic Republic made rapid progress with its nuclear program, completely disregarding its obligations to the other signatories and advancing toward building nuclear weapons, despite claims that it has no such aspirations.
The White House was at first unable to make headway with its wish to see the deal resuscitated, but the various sides to the agreement – which include Russia, China and European allies – repeatedly have voiced optimism regarding the Vienna talks that began in early April.
While all the signatories have expressed their desire to see the deal revived, American allies in the Middle East have voiced concerns about this intention. Most notable is Israel, which opposed the deal strongly when it was first signed in 2015.Israel sees the Iranian regime as an existential threat. Indeed, Iranian officials have repeatedly voiced their desire to wipe the country of the map. The Jewish state strongly doubts the agreement's efficacy with regard to the Iranian nuclear program and criticizes the fact that it doesn't address other issues with the Islamic Republic, such as its support throughout the region for groups like Hezbollah and Hamas.