7 years after pulling out, why is Donald Trump re-engaging Iran on nuclear deal, and what does Israel want?

On the eve of nuclear talks with the United States, Iranians wave the flags of Palestine and Hezbollah as they march in Tehran to denounce the US and Israel on Friday, April 11, 2025. (NYT News Service)

US President Donald Trump announced on Monday, April 7, 2025, that Washington and Tehran would begin talks over Iran’s nuclear programme in Oman.
Oman has acted as a mediator between the West and Tehran in the past. The two countries met in Muscat on Saturday, April 12, to explore the possibility of a new nuclear agreement.
Iranian state television said on Saturday that Iran and the United States will hold another round of talks next week regarding Tehran’s nuclear program. This came at the end of their first meeting since Donald Trump returned as president. According to Iranian state TV, US Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi “briefly spoke” with each other — the first direct contact between the two sides since the Obama administration. Iranian state media mentioned the face-to-face conversation, indicating the talks were proceeding in a positive direction.
The White House issued a statement on Saturday afternoon saying the discussions were “very positive and constructive,” but also noted that the issues involved “are very complicated.”

“Special Envoy Witkoff’s direct communication today was a step forward in achieving a mutually beneficial outcome,” the White House said.

Both the Iranian and American sides said the next round of talks will take place on Saturday, April 19.
In 2018, President Trump withdrew the US from an earlier nuclear deal involving Iran and other world powers and reimposed economic sanctions. This move was strongly opposed by Iran.
President Trump has also said that military action is possible if the talks do not lead to an agreement.
While the first nuclear deal in 2015 was largely driven by Iran’s aim to remove harsh economic sanctions. The current talks, however, carry greater urgency. Iran, weakened by Israeli actions and with its regional allies reduced in strength, continues to seek economic relief. At the same time, it recognizes that the Islamic Republic is facing serious internal and external pressure. President Donald Trump, who withdrew from the original agreement believing it was too lenient, has warned that Iran could face “bombing the likes of which they’ve never seen before,” and may not be bluffing.

Why is Iran not allowed to possess nuclear weapons?

Iran is not allowed to have nuclear weapons because it is a member of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), which it signed along with most other countries. This agreement allows countries to use nuclear technology only for peaceful purposes, like energy, medicine, and agriculture. It strictly prohibits the development of nuclear weapons.
Although Iran says its nuclear programme is only for civilian use, many countries and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) are not fully convinced. Concerns grew in 2002 when Iran was discovered to have secret nuclear facilities, which violated the NPT. This led to suspicion that Iran might be working toward building nuclear weapons, even though it continues to deny those claims.
Moreover, countries like Israel, Saudi Arabia, and the United States worry that if Iran gets nuclear weapons, it could lead to a nuclear arms race in the Middle East and, consequentially, more instability in the already turmoiled region.
The US and its allies also see Iran as a threat because of its support for groups like Hezbollah and its opposition to Western influence in the region. Giving Iran access to nuclear weapons could make it harder to contain its regional power.

What was 2015 Iran nuclear deal?

The 2015 nuclear deal, officially called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), was an agreement between Iran and six world powers—the United States, United Kingdom, France, Russia, China, and Germany—aimed at preventing Iran from developing nuclear weapons.
Under the deal, Iran agreed to limit its nuclear programme by reducing its stockpile of enriched uranium, cutting the number of centrifuges, and allowing regular inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
In return, international sanctions on Iran were lifted, helping its economy and giving it access to global markets. However, in 2018, US President Donald Trump withdrew from the deal and reinstated sanctions, after which Iran began breaching some of the agreement’s terms.

Iran’s nuclear progress since 2015 deal collapsed

Since the United States left the nuclear agreement known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in 2018 and brought back sanctions, Iran has responded by not following key parts of the deal.
It has set up thousands of advanced centrifuges to enrich uranium, which the JCPOA had banned. To make nuclear weapons, uranium needs to be enriched to 90 per cent purity. Under the JCPOA, Iran was only allowed to keep up to 300kg of uranium enriched to 3.67 per cent , which is suitable for peaceful uses like energy and research.
However, by March 2025, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said Iran had around 275kg of uranium enriched to 60 per cent. If enriched further, that amount could possibly be enough to make about six nuclear weapons. US officials believe Iran could produce enough material for one bomb in roughly a week, but actually making a usable weapon might take between one year and 18 months. Some experts believe Iran could put together a basic nuclear device in six months or even less.

Why Trump withdrew from the 2015 deal?

Before the 2015 nuclear deal, the UN, US, and EU had placed tough economic sanctions on Iran, suspecting it was trying to build a nuclear bomb. These sanctions blocked Iran from selling oil internationally and froze about $100 billion of its assets. This caused a deep recession and rising inflation in Iran.
In 2015, Iran and six world powers (US, UK, France, China, Russia, and Germany) agreed to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which limited Iran’s nuclear activities and allowed international inspections. In return, the sanctions were lifted. The deal was supposed to last up to 15 years.
However, when Donald Trump became US president in 2018, he pulled the US out of the agreement. He called it a “bad deal” because it wasn’t permanent and didn’t cover Iran’s missile programme. He re-imposed US sanctions as part of a “maximum pressure” strategy to push Iran into a new deal. Trump’s move was also supported by US allies like Israel, which claimed Iran was secretly continuing its nuclear programme and could use the money from sanctions relief to boost its military.

Why US is negotiating the nuclear deal now?

The US, under President Donald Trump, is aiming to reach a new deal with Iran that goes beyond the 2015 nuclear agreement. Trump wants to prove he can negotiate a “better” deal, one that not only limits Iran’s nuclear programme more strictly but also addresses issues like ballistic missiles and regional influence.

The goal is to ease tensions in the Middle East, especially between Iran and Israel, and prevent a wider conflict. Israel, meanwhile, remains deeply suspicious of Iran and wants any future agreement to fully eliminate Iran’s ability to develop nuclear weapons. “The deal with Iran is acceptable only if the nuclear sites are destroyed under US supervision,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel said this week. “Otherwise, the military option is the only choice.”
Both sides are approaching talks cautiously, given the deep mistrust after the US pulled out of the original JCPOA and imposed harsh sanctions on Iran.
But what’s at Stake?
The future of the original 2015 nuclear deal is hanging by a thread, especially with its strictest limits set to expire soon. If the agreement collapses completely, Iran could move closer to developing a nuclear weapon—raising fears of a nuclear arms race in the Middle East.
This poses a direct threat to Israel and could destabilize the region further. There’s also concern that Iran might share its nuclear know-how with militant or terrorist groups, intensifying global security risks. The outcome of ongoing talks could determine whether diplomacy prevails or tensions spiral toward conflict.

How much is Iran willing to concede?

While the US may offer sanctions relief to help revive Iran’s battered economy, Tehran is unlikely to give up its nuclear programme altogether. Since the US exit from the 2015 deal, Iran has expanded its uranium stockpile significantly, enriching some of it up to 60 per cent —just a short technical step from weapons-grade.
One thing it won’t do is give up its programme entirely. That makes the proposal of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of a so-called Libyan solution – “you go in, blow up the facilities, dismantle all the equipment, under American supervision, American execution” – unworkable, the news agency Associated Press reported.
Iranians including Ayatollah Ali Khamenei have held up what ultimately happened to the late Libyan dictator Moammar Gadhafi, who was killed with his own gun by rebels in the country’s 2011 Arab Spring uprising, as a warning about what can happen when you trust the United States.