On July 14, 2015, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action was reached between Iran, the P5+1 – that is China, France, Germany, Russia, Britain and the United States – and the European Union.
The main achievement of this plan for the international community, particularly those involved in the negotiations, was to ensure Iran’s nuclear activities remain peaceful.
The western parties involved in the plan, known as the JCPOA, had also hoped it would bring Iran out of political isolation and ultimately encourage Iranian authorities to align their regional strategies more closely with that of the West. For Iran, lifting the US-led economic sanctions was the key motive to engage in the process of negotiations.
More than a year later, neither Iran nor the West seem to have achieved what they were hoping for. The Iranian government has frequently criticized its western counterparts for failing to fulfil their commitments in relation to the lifting of the sanctions.
