Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA)
an international agreement limiting Iran’s nuclear activities, with procedures to verify compliance, in return for the lifting of sanctions that the United States and other countries had imposed on Iran. The agreement seeks to prevent Iran from accumulating the technology and materials necessary to produce a nuclear weapon in the near future. Reached by the P5+1 (China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States, plus Germany) in July 2015, the agreement has been controversial. Skeptics, including Israel, a close U.S. ally, argue that the deal grants too many concessions to Iran, including the eventual expiration of restrictions on Iran’s nuclear program. In 2018, the United States pulled out of the deal with the aim of bringing Iran to the negotiating table for a more restrictive agreement.