WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE JCPOA

JCPOA Exceeds WINEP BenchmarksThe Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) exceeds all five benchmarks for a gooddeal published by the Washington Institute for Near East Policy’s (WINEP) bipartisan groupfor the Iran nuclear issue. The JCPOA reaffirms U.S. policy to prevent Iran from producingsufficient fissile material for a nuclear weapon — or otherwise acquiring or building one.WINEP BenchmarksMonitoring and Verification:The inspectors of the International Atomic EnergyAgency (the “IAEA”) charged with monitoringcompliance with the agreement must have timelyand effective access to any sites in Iran they needto visit in order to verify Iran’s compliance with theagreement. This must include military (includingIRGC) and other sensitive facilities. Iran must notbe able to deny or delay timely access to any siteanywhere in the country that the inspectors need tovisit in order to carry out their responsibilities.Possible Military DimensionsThe IAEA inspectors must be able, in a timely andeffective manner, to take samples, to interviewscientists and government officials, to inspect sites,and to review and copy documents as required fortheir investigation of Iran’s past and any ongoingnuclear weaponization activities (“Possible MilitaryDimensions” or “PMD”). This work needs to beaccomplished before any significant sanctions relief.JCPOA Commitments√√Done.The JCPOA ensures both timely and effective International Atomic EnergyAgency (IAEA) access to any location in Iran necessary in order to verifyIran’s compliance. Not only will the IAEA have daily access to Iran’s primarynuclear sites, Natanz1 and Fordow 2 , but it will be able to conduct regularmonitoring — using modern technology 3 — of Iran’s uranium mines and mills 4and its centrifuge production, assembly, and storage facilities 5 . This meansthat the IAEA will have access to the supply chain that supports Iran’s nuclearprogram, as well as be able to continuously monitor the nuclear infrastructurethat is removed as a requirement of this deal. In an instance where the IAEAhas a question about an undeclared location outside Iran’s declared nuclearprogram, the IAEA will be able to request access under the Additional Protocol(AP), which Iran will implement as part of the JCPOA 6 . Access under theAdditional Protocol will be used by the IAEA to verify at undeclared sites thatno unapproved nuclear activity is occurring. Military and other sensitive sitesare not exempt from the AP. Above and beyond the AP, the JCPOA has anadditional procedure that will effectively require Iran to grant IAEA accessto any requested location within a predetermined, limited time period. 7 IfIran denies access through this procedure, it would be in violation of theJCPOA. Moreover, the establishment of a dedicated procurement channel forIran’s nuclear program will also enable the close monitoring and approval ofmaterials so as to minimize the chances of any diversion to a secret program.Done.Iran has agreed to address all of the outstanding issues with regards to PMD ina comprehensive and time-limited manner. The IAEA and Iran together havedeveloped and agreed on this time-limited process through which Iran willaddress the IAEA’s questions by simultaneously and meaningfully engagingon all of the issues set out in the IAEA Director General’s November 2011report on PMD. Iran has committed, as a condition of the JCPOA 8 , to providethe information and access the IAEA needs to complete its investigation ofPMD and issue its independent assessment. Appropriate access will be givento Parchin. Iran will provide this information and access within the next threemonths–by October 15th. Sanctions relief will not be provided unless and untilIran completes this process and gives the IAEA what it needs. In addition toaddressing past weaponziation concerns, the JCPOA also puts into place newcommitments by Iran not to engage in select activities which could contributeto the development of a nuclear explosive device. 9