In-Depth Advisory on President’s Announcement of Withdrawal From JCPOA and Reimposition of Nuclear-Based Sanctions on Iran

In addition to our previous updates, Steptoe recently published an in-depth advisory on President Trump’s May 8, 2018 decision to withdraw the United States from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). The JCPOA is an agreement reached in July 2015 between Iran, the United States, the United Kingdom, France, China, Russia, and Germany in which Iran agreed to curtail its nuclear program in exchange for phased economic sanctions relief. A White House Fact Sheet published at the time of the decision indicated that Iran entered the JCPOA in bad faith, citing Iran’s destabilizing role in conflicts throughout the Middle East, continued development of its ballistic missiles, support for terrorist organizations, and human rights abuses. The JCPOA and the United Nations Security Council Resolution that endorsed the deal included mechanisms for implementing a sanctions “snapback” in the event of a JCPOA violation, but the Trump Administration elected to withdraw unilaterally from the JCPOA without relying on these procedures. For more information on this issue, please see the full advisory.