GRF International Task Force
on
the Future of the Nuclear Deal with Iran
Second Meeting
March 4-5, 2017
The second and final meeting of the “GRF International Task Force on the
Future of the Nuclear Deal with Iran: Preserving, Solidifying and
Leveraging a Diplomatic Success” was held at the Yapi Kredi Yeniköy
Grove on March 4-5, 2017. The Task Force was established in 2016 to
generate a constructive set of policies to maintain the momentum of and
constructively steer the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) on
Iran’s nuclear program, and its first meeting had taken place in
Istanbul in October 2016.
Held with the participation of 12 Task Force members including GRF
members as well as experts on nuclear security from France, India, Iran,
Israel, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States, the sessions
were also observed by four expert rapporteurs from China, Germany, Italy
and Turkey.
The meeting convened with the agenda of the changing political context
surrounding the JCPOA, and addressed the challenges against the deal’s
preservation as well as its use as an anchor for security and stability
in the region.
The meeting began with a session entitled “Domestic Politics
Jeopardizing the JCPOA”, in which the participants analyzed the extent
of the JCPOA’s resilience in the face of changing political climates in
the US and Iran. The participants also reflected on the appropriate
mechanisms and strategies to reverse, slow down or divert political
forces that fuel the opposition against the deal in Tehran and
Washington.
In the second session of the meeting, entitled “E3+3-US and Preserving
the JCPOA: Will they, can they?”, the main focus was on the commitment
of the non-US members of the E3+3 countries who signed the deal with
Iran (China, France, Germany, United Kingdom, Russia) to the
preservation of the deal, especially in the case of a unilateral
suspension of the deal by the US.
In the final session of the day, entitled “Can the JCPOA Survive Delayed
US Sanctions Relief or New Non-Nuclear Sanctions?”, the participants
discussed the ways in which delays in the accrual of the deal’s economic
benefits or the imposition of new non-nuclear sanctions might undermine
the JCPOA.
The first day of meetings was concluded with a formal dinner held at the
Sait Halim Paşa Mansion with the participation of Ambassador Alper
Coşkun, Director General for International Security Affairs at the
Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as keynote speaker. During his
speech, Ambassador Coşkun provided an overview of Turkey’s policies
regarding the Middle East and Iran in particular.
The second day of meetings commenced with the session entitled
“President Trump’s Public Condemnation of the JCPOA: Could it Motivate
New Extended Negotiations with Iran?” where participants discussed
whether the temporal limits of the JCPOA, which have been strongly
opposed by critics amongst the senior US administration, potentially
provide a basis to launch new negotiations in return for further
sanctions relief.
The fifth session entitled “Imagining the Context of Future Negotiations
with Iran: Is it Wiser to Negotiate an Extended Deal Sooner rather than
Later?” addressed what the ideal timing would be for building on the
JCPOA and negotiating a broader deal with Iran.
During the sixth and last session, the Task Force discussed the first
draft of the Task Force report, which will be published later this year,
and made assessments on how to maintain the report’s relevance and
significance in a rapidly changing political context.
Please click for the Task Force members’ list and the detailed meeting agenda.