P5+1

The foreign ministers of the P5+1 nations, the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs, and the Iranian foreign minister in November 2013, when the Joint Plan of Action, an interim agreement on the Iranian nuclear program, was adopted in Geneva.
The ministers of foreign affairs of France, Germany, the European Union, Iran, the United Kingdom and the United States as well as Chinese and Russian diplomats announcing an Iran nuclear deal framework in Lausanne on 2 April 2015. The framework deal became the basis for a final agreement, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, which was agreed on 15 July 2015.

The P5+1 refers to the UN Security Council's five permanent members (the P5); namely China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States; plus Germany. The P5+1 is often referred to as the E3+3 by European countries.[1] It is a group of six world powers which, in 2006, joined together in diplomatic efforts with Iran with regard to its nuclear program.[2][3]

History

In June 2006, China, Russia, and the United States joined the three EU-3 countries, which had been negotiating with Iran since 2003,[4] to offer another proposal for comprehensive negotiations with Iran.

Up to then, the UN Security Council has adopted six resolutions in response to the Iranian nuclear program. The first resolution, #1696, was adopted in July 2006 and demands that Iran halt its uranium enrichment-related and reprocessing activities.

The next three years saw the adoption of three more resolutions, #1737 in December 2006, #1747 in March 2007, and #1803 in March 2008, which have imposed gradual sanctions on Iranian individuals and entities believed to be involved in Iran's nuclear and missile programs.

UN Security Council Resolution #1835, adopted in September 2008, restated the Security Council's demands made in resolution #1696 of 2006, but without imposing additional sanctions.

The last Security Council resolution, #1929, adopted in June 2010, saw the expansion of more sanctions on Iran for its lack of cooperation and its continued uranium enrichment-related and reprocessing activities

Role of Germany

Germany is the key trading partner of Iran.[5] Iran's nuclear program depends mainly upon German products and services. For example, the thousands of centrifuges used to enrich the uranium are controlled by Siemens "Simatic WinCC Step7" software.[6][7] Around 50 German firms have branch offices in Iran, and more than 12,000 firms have trade representatives in Iran. Many well-known German companies are involved in major Iranian infrastructure projects, especially in the petrochemical sector, like Linde, BASF, Lurgi, Krupp, Siemens, ZF Friedrichshafen, Mercedes, Volkswagen, MAN, and Unilever. (2008).[8]

In 2005, Germany had the largest share of Iran's export market with $5.67 billion (14.4%).[9] In 2008, German exports to Iran increased by 8.9 percent and comprised 84.7 percent of the total German–Iranian trade volume. The overall bilateral trade volume until the end of September 2008 stood at 3.23 billion euros, compared to 2.98 billion euros the previous year.[8][10] The value of trade between Germany and Iran increased from around 4.3 billion euro in 2009 to nearly 4.7 billion euro in 2010.[11]

The Association of German Chambers of Industry and Commerce has estimated that economic sanctions against Iran may cost more than 10,000 German jobs and have a negative impact on the economic growth of Germany. Sanctions would especially hurt medium-sized German companies, which depend heavily on trade with Iran.[8] There has been a shift in German business ties with Iran from long-term business to short-term and from large to mid-sized companies which have fewer business interests in the US and thus are less prone to U.S. political pressure.[12]

2013 interim agreement

A round of the talks between Iran and the P5+1, chaired by EU High Representative Catherine Ashton,[13] was held in the Kazakh city of Almaty on 26–27 February 2013. The two sides agreed to meet again in the city on 5–6 April to continue the talks after holding expert-level talks in the Turkish city of Istanbul on 17–18 March 2013.[14]

In a further meeting of the P5+1 in Geneva on 16 October 2013, Iran stated that it may allow unannounced visits to its nuclear sites as a "last step" in a proposal to resolve differences with the West. Lowering uranium enrichment levels could also be part of a final deal, according to an Iranian official.[15]

On 24 November 2013, an interim agreement was reached between the P5+1 countries and Iran in Geneva, Switzerland.[16] It is expected to lead to a six-month freeze and partial rollback of portions of Iran's nuclear program in exchange for decreased economic sanctions on Iran, as the countries work towards a long-term agreement. It represents the first formal agreement between the United States and Iran in 34 years.

2014 negotiations on a comprehensive agreement

U.S. Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs and the lead negotiator with Iran, Wendy Sherman, told a Senate hearing that Iran's ballistic missile program would be addressed as part of a comprehensive nuclear deal. On 10 February 2014, Iran's defense minister said they successfully test-fired two new domestically made missiles.[17] The next day, Iran laid out "red lines" related to its ballistic missile program, atomic sites and uranium enrichment ahead of talks of the next step in nuclear talks, which resumed in Vienna on 18 February. Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi, also a senior Iranian nuclear negotiator, said "defense-related issues are a red line for Iran" and that Tehran "will not allow such issues to be discussed in future talks."[18]

Senior officials of the P5+1 and Iran met on 18–20 February 2014 in Vienna and agreed on a framework for future negotiations. The P5+1 and Iran are preparing to have monthly meetings to try and forge a final, comprehensive deal. The next round of monthly senior-level meetings is scheduled to 17–20 March 2014 in Vienna.[19][20]

Former Israeli UN Ambassador Dore Gold claimed that the comprehensive agreement being negotiated between Iran and the P5+1 focused on increased transparency instead of a reduction in nuclear capability.[21] Former U.S. State Department official and advisor on Iran's nuclear program Robert Einhorn said such an agreement would need to both increase transparency and lengthen Iran's timeline for nuclear breakout capability.[22]

2015 negotiations on last solutions and final agreement

Last meetings before nuclear agreement

See also

References

  1. ↑ "E3/EU +3 nuclear negotiations with Iran". Delegation of the European Union to the United States.
  2. ↑ "'Substantive' talks over Iran's nuclear program". CNN. Retrieved 26 November 2013.
  3. ↑ "History of Official Proposals on the Iranian Nuclear Issue | Arms Control Association". Armscontrol.org.
  4. ↑ Peter Crail, Maria Lorenzo Sobrado (1 December 2004). "IAEA Board Welcomes EU-Iran Agreement: Is Iran Providing Assurances or Merely Providing Amusement?". NTI. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
  5. ↑ "Germany's Pivotal Role in the Iranian Nuclear Standoff – Carnegie Endowment for International Peace". Retrieved 26 November 2013.
  6. ↑ "How Digital Detectives Deciphered Stuxnet, the Most Menacing Malware in History". WIRED. 11 July 2011.
  7. ↑ "Stuxnet Missing Link Found, Resolves Some Mysteries Around the Cyberweapon". WIRED. 26 February 2013.
  8. 1 2 3 "German-Iranian trade up 7.8 percent". Payvand.com. Retrieved 26 November 2013.
  9. ↑ "The Cost of Economic Sanctions on Major Exporters to Iran". payvand.com.
  10. ↑ Haaretz Service and News Agencies (5 November 2009). "Iran warns Germany: Don't let 'Zionists' harm your interests". Haaretz.com.
  11. ↑ "Germany-Iran trade grows 9% in 2010". Payvand.com. Retrieved 26 November 2013.
  12. ↑ http://tehrantimes.com/Index_view.asp?code=229816
  13. ↑ Laurence Norman and Jay Solomon (9 November 2013). "Iran Nuclear Talks End Without Deal". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 10 November 2013.
  14. ↑ "PressTV – Positive Iran-P5+1 talks in Almaty, Israel's total defeat: Report". Press TV. Retrieved 26 November 2013.
  15. ↑ James Reynolds (16 October 2013). "Iran nuclear checks most detailed ever – Ashton". BBC. Retrieved 26 November 2013.
  16. ↑ "The Iran nuclear deal: full text". CNN. 24 November 2013. Retrieved 5 April 2015.
  17. ↑ Iran test-fires long-range missile, Reuters, 10 February 2014
  18. ↑ Iran sets 'red lines' ahead of fresh nuclear talks, AFP, 11 February 2014
  19. ↑ "Next Round of Iran Nuclear Talks to be held in Vienna from March 17". news.biharprabha.com. Indo-Asian News Service. Retrieved 20 February 2014.
  20. ↑ Framework Is Set for Iran Nuclear Talks, The Wall Street Journal; 19 February 2014
  21. ↑ Gold, Dore. "Inspections: The Weak Link in a Nuclear Agreement with Iran".
  22. ↑ "Experts Discuss Framework for a Final Iran Nuclear Agreement". Brookings Institution. 2 April 2014. Retrieved 29 June 2014.
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