Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov stated on Tuesday that a new agreement between Iran and the United States, akin to the 2015 nuclear deal under former President Barack Obama, could pave the way for peace. “If the current efforts by Iranian and American negotiators, which we support, lead to something like the 2015 agreement, it would be a significant achievement,” he remarked during a press conference after a meeting with Libya’s deputy foreign minister, Taher al-Baour. The country, following Obama’s military intervention in 2011, has faced turmoil and chaos with various factions vying for control.
Lavrov emphasized that the 2015 deal, officially termed the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), was a major step in foreign policy, noting that “Iran has already fallen victim to broken promises, including those surrounding the JCPOA, which was endorsed by the UN Security Council in 2015.” He criticized the U.S. for withdrawing from the agreement, stating that the deal had already addressed many of the questions currently posed by the U.S.
The foreign minister underlined how the JCPOA would have satisfied President Donald Trump’s requirement that Iran not develop nuclear weapons. He pointed out that it established strict controls over Iran’s nuclear program, which were more rigorous than the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) regulations imposed on other nations.
“History ought to guide us, so achieving success now means reverting to earlier agreements,” he concluded.
In practice, however, the JCPOA did not fully block Iran’s path to developing a nuclear weapon; it merely delayed it by about ten years. Moreover, reports indicate Iran did not adhere strictly to the limitations, as evidenced by their substantial accumulation of uranium enriched to near-weapons-grade levels. They’ve attempted to conceal this from international inspectors and the U.S. military.
When President Trump exited the agreement in May 2018, he described the JCPOA as a “terrible one-sided deal” that should never have been made, asserting that it was based on the false premise that Iran only sought a peaceful nuclear energy program. He declared, “Today we have irrefutable proof that this Iranian assertion was deceitful.”
Despite the JCPOA still being technically upheld by its European signatories, Iran has been found in violation on several counts, including using illegal uranium centrifuges and enriching uranium at unpermitted sites. The country has also not fully complied with IAEA inspectors and has amassed large quantities of enriched uranium that exceed any civilian requirements.
By June 2025, after years of overlooking these infractions to maintain the JCPOA, the IAEA finally issued a formal statement declaring Iran’s non-compliance with its nuclear obligations. They stated that Iran had “repeatedly failed to meet its obligations to fully and promptly cooperate with the agency regarding undeclared nuclear materials and activities at various undisclosed sites since 2019.”
Iran dismissed these claims as a politically motivated attack, even announcing plans to continue operations at its ports and establish another uranium enrichment facility.
Following the IAEA’s condemnation, the U.S. and Israel launched airstrikes against Iran’s contraband nuclear program, which culminated in a significant U.S. operation destroying three major uranium enrichment sites on June 22, 2025.
The day after the U.S. strikes, Ali Larijani, an advisor to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei, issued a vehement threat to “make peace” with IAEA Director-General Rafael Grossi regarding the non-compliance declaration, despite Grossi having no involvement in the attack. Both Khamenei and Larijani did not survive this tumultuous period, as they were eliminated during Operation Epic Fury.
