Key Limitations on Iran’s Uranium Enrichment Program

In the preamble of the November 2013 Joint Plan of Action (JPOA), the P5+1concurred that a comprehensive agreement would involve an Iranian domestic enrichment capability. This concession, immediately pocketed by Tehran, marked a fundamental change in the negotiations. Instead of a complete suspension of enrichment and reprocessing activities, as called for in multiple Security Council resolutions and a foundational plank of all previous negotiating positions, the P5+1 negotiators are now attempting to reach a comprehensive agreement with Iran that will establish a credible “threshold time window,” or “breakout time,” which would provide sufficient time to detect breakout and give the international community adequate time to respond to Iranian violations.

The full text of the memo can be found below.