The Iran nuclear agreement, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, is a landmark accord reached between Iran and world powers including the US in July 2015.
Under the agreement, Iran agreed not to produce either the highly enriched uranium or the plutonium that could be used in a nuclear weapon in exchange for international sanctions relief, with extensive international inspections monitoring activity.
Before the JCPOA, Iran negotiated for years with western countries to offer incentives to halt its nuclear enrichment.
Iran has in the past denied seeking nuclear weapons, saying it refines uranium for civilian energy uses only.
The nuclear deal capped the purity to which Tehran can refine uranium at 3.67 per cent, the level suitable for most civilian nuclear energy, well below the 20 per cent achieved before the 2015 deal and the 90 per cent suitable for a nuclear weapon.
Here are the highs and lows of the JCPOA in the last seven years:
May 2015
In May 2015, Barack Obama as president signed the agreement into US law. The Senate passed the legislation by a 98-1 vote and the House by a 400-25 vote.
The deal was agreed with a group of world powers known as the P5+1 — the US, UK, France, China, Russia and Germany.
January 2016
The JCPOA is part of UN Security Council Resolution 2231. The members of the UN Security Council voted on it on July 20, 2015, and adopted it on October 18.
It came into effect on January 16, 2016. In the same month, International sanctions on Iran were lifted.
International nuclear watchdog, the IAEA, said its inspectors had verified that Iran had taken the required steps.
May 2018
In May 2018, president Donald Trump withdrew the US from the deal. He described it as “defective at its core”.
Iran resumed some of its nuclear activities in response.
Mr Trump reinstated all US sanctions on Iran that November as part of a “maximum pressure” campaign against Tehran.
May 2019
A year after withdrawing the US from the deal, Mr Trump imposed new sanctions on Iran, this time aimed at its industrial metals sector.
The move came after Tehran said that it would no longer fully comply with the JCPOA.
Iran accused the other parties in the deal of not making good on their promises to shield its oil and banking sectors from US sanctions.
May 2021
Talks to revive the JCPOA began five months after Joe Biden succeeded Mr Trump as president in January 2021.
Mr Biden said the US would rejoin the deal and lift the sanctions if Iran reversed its breaches.
Ebrahim Raisi, who took up office as Iranian president in August, said the US must make the first move and insisted that Washington should lift sanctions first.
November 2021
By November 2021, Iran had amassed a stockpile of enriched uranium that was many times larger than permitted.
The UN nuclear watchdog said Tehran had begun the process of enriching uranium to 60 per cent fissile purity at an above-ground nuclear plant at Natanz.
February 2022
On February 4 the US State Department said it would waive sanctions on Iran’s civil nuclear programme.
It represented a technical step necessary to return to the 2015 agreement.
The US decision came as US negotiators returned to Vienna for negotiations.
March 2022
Iran says that Russia's demand for written US guarantees that sanctions on Moscow would not harm Russian co-operation with Iran is “not constructive” for talks with global powers.
The announcement by Russia, which could wreck months of indirect talks between Tehran and Washington in Vienna, came shortly after Tehran said it had agreed a road map with the UN nuclear watchdog to resolve outstanding issues that could help secure the nuclear pact.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Qyubic
Started: October 2023
Founder: Namrata Raina
Based: Dubai
Sector: E-commerce
Current number of staff: 10
Investment stage: Pre-seed
Initial investment: Undisclosed
Gulf Men's League final
Dubai Hurricanes 24-12 Abu Dhabi Harlequins
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Fines for littering
In Dubai:
Dh200 for littering or spitting in the Dubai Metro
Dh500 for throwing cigarette butts or chewing gum on the floor, or littering from a vehicle.
Dh1,000 for littering on a beach, spitting in public places, throwing a cigarette butt from a vehicle
In Sharjah and other emirates
Dh500 for littering - including cigarette butts and chewing gum - in public places and beaches in Sharjah
Dh2,000 for littering in Sharjah deserts
Dh500 for littering from a vehicle in Ras Al Khaimah
Dh1,000 for littering from a car in Abu Dhabi
Dh1,000 to Dh100,000 for dumping waste in residential or public areas in Al Ain
Dh10,000 for littering at Ajman's beaches
Founders: Abdulmajeed Alsukhan, Turki Bin Zarah and Abdulmohsen Albabtain.
Based: Riyadh
Offices: UAE, Vietnam and Germany
Founded: September, 2020
Number of employees: 70
Sector: FinTech, online payment solutions
Funding to date: $116m in two funding rounds
Investors: Checkout.com, Impact46, Vision Ventures, Wealth Well, Seedra, Khwarizmi, Hala Ventures, Nama Ventures and family offices
RACECARD
4.30pm Jebel Jais – Maiden (PA) Dh60,000 (Turf) 1,000m
5pm: Jabel Faya – Maiden (PA) Dh60,000 (T) 1,000m
5.30pm: Al Wathba Stallions Cup – Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (T) 2,200m
6pm: The President’s Cup Prep – Conditions (PA) Dh100,000 (T) 2,200m
6.30pm: Abu Dhabi Equestrian Club – Prestige (PA) Dh125,000 (T) 1,600m
7pm: Al Ruwais – Group 3 (PA) Dh300,000 (T) 1,200m
7.30pm: Jebel Hafeet – Maiden (TB) Dh80,000 (T) 1,400m
PROFILE OF HALAN
Started: November 2017
Founders: Mounir Nakhla, Ahmed Mohsen and Mohamed Aboulnaga
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Sector: transport and logistics
Size: 150 employees
Investment: approximately $8 million
Investors include: Singapore’s Battery Road Digital Holdings, Egypt’s Algebra Ventures, Uber co-founder and former CTO Oscar Salazar
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
A%20QUIET%20PLACE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Lupita%20Nyong'o%2C%20Joseph%20Quinn%2C%20Djimon%20Hounsou%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMichael%20Sarnoski%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
From Zero
Artist: Linkin Park
Label: Warner Records
Number of tracks: 11
Rating: 4/5
WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
Plan to boost public schools
A major shake-up of government-run schools was rolled out across the country in 2017. Known as the Emirati School Model, it placed more emphasis on maths and science while also adding practical skills to the curriculum.
It was accompanied by the promise of a Dh5 billion investment, over six years, to pay for state-of-the-art infrastructure improvements.
Aspects of the school model will be extended to international private schools, the education minister has previously suggested.
Recent developments have also included the introduction of moral education - which public and private schools both must teach - along with reform of the exams system and tougher teacher licensing requirements.
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
The Buckingham Murders
Starring: Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ash Tandon, Prabhleen Sandhu
Director: Hansal Mehta
Rating: 4 / 5
Roll of honour 2019-2020
Dubai Rugby Sevens
Winners: Dubai Hurricanes
Runners up: Bahrain
West Asia Premiership
Winners: Bahrain
Runners up: UAE Premiership
UAE Premiership
}Winners: Dubai Exiles
Runners up: Dubai Hurricanes
UAE Division One
Winners: Abu Dhabi Saracens
Runners up: Dubai Hurricanes II
UAE Division Two
Winners: Barrelhouse
Runners up: RAK Rugby
ABU DHABI ORDER OF PLAY
Starting at 10am:
Daria Kasatkina v Qiang Wang
Veronika Kudermetova v Annet Kontaveit (10)
Maria Sakkari (9) v Anastasia Potapova
Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova v Ons Jabeur (15)
Donna Vekic (16) v Bernarda Pera
Ekaterina Alexandrova v Zarina Diyas
Getting there
Flydubai flies direct from Dubai to Tbilisi from Dh1,025 return including taxes
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
GOLF’S RAHMBO
- 5 wins in 22 months as pro
- Three wins in past 10 starts
- 45 pro starts worldwide: 5 wins, 17 top 5s
- Ranked 551th in world on debut, now No 4 (was No 2 earlier this year)
- 5th player in last 30 years to win 3 European Tour and 2 PGA Tour titles before age 24 (Woods, Garcia, McIlroy, Spieth)
The specs: 2018 Ford F-150
Price, base / as tested: Dh173,250 / Dh178,500
Engine: 5.0-litre V8
Power: 395hp @ 5,000rpm
Torque: 555Nm @ 2,750rpm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Fuel consumption, combined: 12.4L / 100km
