The US, Iran and the bomb

Many political analysts say it’s hard to imagine how the Iranians can trust the Americans today. After all, it was Donald Trump who, in 2018, unilaterally withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal. But seven years later, on April 12, 2025, US delegates were in Oman, trying to hammer out yet another deal to ensure Iran does not build a nuclear bomb.

The nuclear weapons club is small; only nine countries: Russia, the US, China, France, the UK, Pakistan, India, North Korea and, it is presumed, Israel. And while Iran says it has no plans to build a bomb, it nevertheless has the means.

After two years of tough negotiations, the Iran nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), was signed in 2015 by Iran and the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council: China, France, Russia, the UK, the US — plus Germany.

Under the JCPOA, Iran agreed to limit uranium production and allow inspections by the UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency, in exchange for sanctions relief.

When Trump withdrew from the agreement, he called it “a horrible one-sided deal”, and reimposed sanctions on Iran.

But the ensuing years were far from calm or peaceful and included a US drone strike in 2020 that assassinated General Qassem Soleimani, commander of Iran’s Quds Force.

Israel also carried out several attacks, and is suspected in the April 2021 sabotage of Iran’s Natanz nuclear facility in which an explosion caused a blackout that Iran called “nuclear terrorism”.

And in October 2024, Israel launched Operation Days of Repentance, deploying more than 100 aircraft, including F-35 jets, to target Iran’s air defence systems and missile production facilities, as well as sites in Iraq and Syria.

Today, the US has built up its military presence in the region, which includes sending more B-2 stealth bombers, while Israel wants Iran’s nuclear assets dismantled — or bombed. Right now, though, it’s all about the diplomacy, after a second meeting on April 19 set out an agenda for further talks — talks in which the key ingredient may well turn out to be patience — and when it runs out.