Japan's plan to revive the nuclear deal with Iran

The US unilaterally withdrew from the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran on May 8, 2018, during the presidency of Donald Trump.

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian stated that Japan has presented a plan to revive the nuclear deal, which was signed in 2015 but effectively became defunct after the US unilaterally withdrew from it.

Speaking to Japan's Kyodo News Agency, Amir-Abdollahian noted that the Tokyo administration had presented a plan to restart negotiations between Iran and the P5+1 group, stating, "We support Japan's constructive role in reviving the nuclear deal."

Amir-Abdollahian indicated that any initiative by Japan would be viewed positively by Tehran, provided it aligns with Iran's interests.

THE PROPOSAL CAME FROM JAPAN

Amir-Abdollahian, who did not provide detailed information about the plan presented by Japan, noted that he received the proposal during his visit to Tokyo in August.

Amir-Abdollahian said he received the proposal from the Japanese government and held meetings with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and subsequently with Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi.

In 2015, an agreement was signed between Iran and the permanent members of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC)—the US, Russia, China, the UK, and France—plus Germany (the P5+1), which regulated and placed under supervision Iran's nuclear activities in exchange for the lifting of sanctions.

Following former US President Donald Trump's unilateral withdrawal of his country from the nuclear deal with Iran, nuclear talks began in Vienna in April 2021 to discuss the revival of the deal and the US's return to it. These talks were suspended in early September 2022 due to a series of disagreements between Washington and Tehran.

International efforts to restart the negotiations have so far been unsuccessful. Iran had previously announced that a plan for reviving the nuclear deal had also been put forward by Sultan Haitham bin Tariq of Oman.