The upsides and downsides of the Iranian nuclear deal.

• Author: Patman, Robert

The nuclear agreement between Iran and the P5+I group limits Iran's nuclear programme in return for the gradual removal of international economic sanctions against Teheran. While the deal significantly reduces an Iranian nuclear weapons threat, it has been condemned for simply stalling the danger at the cost of expanding the assets of a regionally assertive actor. However, the claim that a better multilateral deal with Iran was possible is not convincing. The Iran nuclear accord achieves the central goal of constraining Teheran's nuclear programmes and has the potential to facilitate a diplomatic dialogue on critical issues like Syria.

Robert Patman and Laura Southgate argue that the agreement will not only curtail Iran's nuclear programmes but also provide diplomatic side benefits.

The signing of the nuclear accord between Iran and the so-called P5+1 group--the United States, United Kingdom, France, Russia, China and Germany, along with the European Union--in Vienna on 14 July 2015 is a historic agreement that caps nearly two years of strenuous negotiations and potentially ends one of the world's most serious crises.

The nuclear deal was subject to a 60-day review by the US Senate after it was signed. However, it became clear by 18 September that US Senate Democrats had successfully blocked legislation to prevent the deal going ahead. By a vote of 56-42, the Republican majority in the Senate failed to obtain the 60 votes required. This result followed an intense period of lobbying in Washington, during which the pros and cons of the deal were fiercely debated.

US President Barack Obama hailed the Iran nuclear agreement as a landmark 'in our pursuit of a safer, more helpful and more hopeful world'. (1) But Israel and Saudi Arabia, key US allies in the Middle East region, strongly oppose the deal and claim that it undermines their security. Conservative politicians in the United States largely agree while hardliners in Iran portray the deal as a defeat for Iran.

Main points

Known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, the agreement sets verifiable limits on Iran's nuclear programme by eliminating pathways to a nuclear weapon in exchange for the gradual removal of international economic sanctions against Teheran.

Under the deal, Iran will give up the bulk of its nuclear programme, namely its enriched uranium (nuclear fuel) and its centrifuges (which turn fuel into weapons material). Iran will also have to submit to a very vigorous and...