U.S. and Iran to resume nuclear talks

President Joe Biden said he would prioritize rejoining the Iran nuclear deal after President Donald Trump withdrew the United States in 2018. But Iran insisted the United States lift sanctions first. The two countries on Friday announced they would begin negotiations through intermediaries next week in Vienna for the United States to rejoin the agreement. The announcement came after the European Union arranged a virtual meeting between countries that originally signed on.

What is the Iran nuclear deal? Countries party to the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan agreed to lift sanctions from Iran if it promised to limit its nuclear capabilities. Trump said the deal did not do enough to hold Iran accountable for its destabilizing behavior in the region, and there was evidence the country had worked to conceal the extent of its progress toward making nuclear weapons. After the United States withdrew from the deal, Iran began violating terms, including stockpiling enriched uranium. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken in February said Iran could be “weeks away” from having enough material to create a nuke.

Dig deeper: Read Mindy Belz’s report on the potential for a U.S.-Iran alliance.