Russia welcomes the agreement reached today in Vienna on a settlement of the situation concerning Iran’s nuclear program and the joint comprehensive plan of action approved by the six countries and Iran. We are certain that the world heaved a sigh of relief today. We expect that all the parties concerned, primarily the six states involved in the negotiations, will comply with the deal in full
Vladimir Putin
President of Russia
The Iranian nuclear program has been carefully reviewed by PIR Center’s experts over the last 20 years. Its goal is an objective, unbiased analysis of Tehran’s activities in developing sensitive nuclear fuel cycle technologies, finding solutions to restore and ensure the sustainability of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action on the Iranian Nuclear Program (JCPOA).
As early as 2002, a year before the undeclared uranium enrichment facilities in Iran became known, PIR Center held a joint seminar with the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS, USA) to look for possible ways to address international concerns about Tehran’s nuclear ambitions. In the 2000s and 2010s, a dialogue with Iranian think tanks, primarily the Institute for Political and International Studies (IPIS) of the Foreign Ministry of the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI), was actively developed.
Particularly energetic work «on the Iranian track» took place in 2011-2014, when PIR Center, in cooperation with the American expert community, held a series of informal discussions on the «Iranian knot» in the Swiss city of Gstaad. The JCPOA is based, among other things, on the expert assessments and ideas that were developed during the Gstaad event.
Work on a political and diplomatic solution to the Iranian nuclear program (INP) continued after the conclusion of the JCPOA. PIR Center’s expertise in this area was especially needed in light of the U.S. withdrawal from the JCPOA in 2018 and the introduction of subsequent countermeasures by Iran.
PIR Center examines the situation around Iran’s nuclear program from different angles. Attention is also paid directly to the debate on nuclear issues within Iran. In particular, PIR Center publishes a digest of the Iranian press on topics related to Iran’s nuclear program (In Russ.). Monitoring this press allows for a better understanding of the driving forces behind Tehran’s policy in this area.
In the run-up to the 2021 presidential election, as part of PIR Center’s Security Index Occasional Paper Series Global Edition, PIR Center released an article Iranian Conservatives’ Action Plan – Joint and Comprehensive (In Russ.), analyzing Iranian conservatives’ approaches to the negotiations to restore the JCPOA. The text of the article can be found at the link. At the same time, on the eve of the Geneva Summit of the Presidents of Russia and the United States (June 2021), Adlan Margoyev published an article devoted to the specifics of the Russian-American dialogue on the JCPOA.
