Rerun

promise

The recurring promises of a new Iran nuclear deal

You're probably here because of the Apr 2026 rerun. This is the 15th time since 2016 this has been promised. The previous rerun was Feb 2026.

About this story

Since 2016, US presidents of both parties have repeatedly promised to replace, rejoin or renegotiate the 2015 Iran nuclear agreement (JCPOA). Trump pledged to dismantle it in 2016, withdrew in 2018 and has since said many times that Iran would make a new deal. Biden pledged to rejoin, and indirect talks ran from 2021 to 2022. Trump's second-term talks in 2025–2026 were interrupted by strikes and war, and no replacement agreement had been finalized as of October 2026.

Sources: 1, 2

20162026

Apr 2026 Ceasefire and the Islamabad talks

After Trump announced a Pakistan-brokered two-week pause on 7 April, a US team led by Vice President JD Vance met an Iranian team in Islamabad on 11 April. The talks ended on 12 April without an agreement after more than 21 hours (TIME; Al Jazeera). Vance said the US needed "an affirmative commitment that they will not seek a nuclear weapon." A US official told TIME the US red lines included ending all uranium enrichment, taking apart major enrichment sites, and letting the US remove Iran's highly enriched uranium. By 26 April no deal had been reached. Al Jazeera reported that Trump cancelled a planned trip to Pakistan by envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner and posted "If they want to talk, all they have to do is call!!!" Citing the IAEA (the UN nuclear watchdog), Al Jazeera added that Iran had enriched uranium to 60 percent.

  • Al Jazeera article
    I agree to suspend the bombing and attack of Iran for a period of two weeks
  • Time article
    We need to see an affirmative commitment that they will not seek a nuclear weapon
  • Al Jazeera article
    If they want to talk, all they have to do is call!!!
  • youtube.com video
    to suspend the bombing and attack of Iran for a period of two weeks

Sources: Al Jazeera reliable · Time reliable · Al Jazeera reliable

Feb 2026 Talks in Oman and Geneva, then war

After indirect talks in Oman on 6 Feb 2026, President Trump said the US had "very good talks" with Iran (CNN). On 19 Feb he said Iran had "10, 15 days, pretty much, maximum" to reach a deal (ABC). By the end of the third round in Geneva on 26 Feb there was no agreement, though technical talks were planned in Vienna the next week (NPR). US and Israeli strikes began on 28 Feb (CRS).

  • Axios article
    The meeting was seen by many in the Trump administration as a last chance for diplomacy before President Trump decides whether to launch a war.
  • NPR article
    Iran and the United States held hours of indirect negotiations Thursday over Tehran's nuclear program but walked away without a deal
  • ABC News article
    I would think that will be enough time -- 10, 15 days, pretty much, maximum,

Sources: NPR reliable · CNN reliable · congress.gov needs a second source

Jun 2025 After the strikes and ceasefire: "We're going to talk to them next week"

On June 25, 2025, at the news conference closing the NATO summit in The Hague, President Trump said "We're going to talk to them next week, with Iran." He also said he didn't think an agreement was needed because Iran's nuclear sites were "blown up to kingdom come" (CBS). By then there was no deal. Axios reported that the last meeting between envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi was more than a month earlier. US and Israeli officials told Axios that a meeting planned for June 15 in Oman fell through, and the US had struck Iran's nuclear facilities the Saturday before. On June 12 the IAEA Board of Governors had found Iran in non-compliance with its obligations, the first such finding since 2005 (RFE/RL). On Thursday, June 26, Araghchi said Iran had no plan to meet the United States, as Iranian lawmakers passed a bill suspending cooperation with the IAEA (Times of Israel).

  • cbsnews.com article
    We're going to talk to them next week, with Iran,
  • Axios article
    Iran has not publicly confirmed any planned meeting with U.S. officials
  • timesofisrael.com article
    Iran currently has no plan to meet with the United States, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Thursday in an interview on state TV
  • c-span.org video Watch

Sources: cbsnews.com reliable · Axios reliable · timesofisrael.com needs a second source · rferl.org needs a second source

Apr 2025 Talks open in Oman

On 7 April 2025, President Trump said the US was "having direct talks with Iran." He added that "doing a deal would be preferable" and that Iran would be "in great danger" if talks failed (official transcript). The National reported that the two sides were "seeking a new deal on Iran's nuclear programme," after Trump pulled out of the 2015 agreement in his first term. PBS reports that when he withdrew on 8 May 2018, Trump said he would get better terms through new talks; PBS added, "Those talks don't happen in his first term." When this wave began, there was no agreement.

  • presidency.ucsb.edu statement
    We're having direct talks with Iran, and they've started. It will go on Saturday.
  • ir.usembassy.gov statement
    Special Envoy Witkoff’s direct communication today was a step forward in achieving a mutually beneficial outcome.
  • NPR broadcast
    The U.S. and Iran are holding a second round of talks in Rome today to discuss Tehran's nuclear program.
  • youtube.com video
    We're having direct talks with Iran, and they've started. It will go on Saturday.

Sources: thenationalnews.com needs a second source · Public Broadcasting Service reliable · fdd.org needs a second source

Mar 2025 Trump says he sent Khamenei a letter urging a nuclear deal; Iran's leaders publicly reject the outreach

In a Fox News interview recorded on 2025-03-06 and partly released on 2025-03-07, President Trump said he had sent Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei a letter. He said it urged Iran to negotiate a nuclear deal and warned that otherwise the US might act militarily. He said he "would rather negotiate a deal" (ABC; RFE/RL). By then, no new agreement had been reached: Trump had withdrawn the US from the 2015 deal in 2018 (RFE/RL; Al Jazeera); Biden-era efforts to revive that deal "proved fruitless" (Al Jazeera); in February 2025 Trump had brought back his "maximum pressure" sanctions campaign (ABC); and Iran was enriching uranium to 60 percent purity, and the IAEA had expressed "serious concern" about how fast Iran was building up highly enriched uranium (RFE/RL). On 2025-03-08, Khamenei publicly rejected negotiations pushed by "bullying governments" (NPR).

  • ABC News article
    There are two ways Iran can be handled, militarily or you make a deal. I would prefer to make a deal,
  • NPR article
    The insistence of some bullying governments to negotiate is not to solve problems, but to impose their own expectations,
  • NPR article
    Should the aim be the dismantlement of Iran's peaceful nuclear program to claim that what Obama failed to achieve has now been accomplished, such negotiations will never take place,

Sources: ABC News reliable · NPR reliable · globalsecurity.org needs a second source · Al Jazeera reliable

Aug 2022 – Sep 2022 The EU's "final text"

On Aug 8, 2022, after 16 months of indirect US–Iran talks, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell circulated what he called a "final text" to restore the JCPOA. He said "if these answers are positive, then we can sign this deal." A State Department spokesperson said the US stood "ready to quickly conclude a deal on the basis of the EU's proposals."

By then the deal had not been restored. The US had left it in 2018, and Iran was enriching uranium up to 60 percent. The IAEA's Sept 7 report put Iran's enriched uranium stockpile at about 3,940 kg, more than 19 times the deal's limit, and said the agency could not provide assurance that the program was exclusively peaceful.

Iran sent a response on Aug 15 and the US on Aug 24. Iran then sent another reply, and an Al Jazeera headline said the US called it "not constructive." Reports on Sept 7 described a continuing impasse.

  • CNN article
    What can be negotiated has been negotiated, and it's now in a final text.
  • armscontrol.org article
    Tehran rejected the description of the draft as “final,”
  • Al Jazeera article
    not in a position to provide assurance that Iran’s nuclear programme is exclusively peaceful

Sources: Public Broadcasting Service reliable · Al Jazeera reliable · armscontrol.org needs a second source

Apr 2021 Vienna talks begin

Biden "campaigned on a pledge to return to the 2015 agreement" (Washington Post) and came into office saying a return was a priority (AP). On April 6, 2021, indirect talks on both sides returning to the deal's terms opened in Vienna. The US and Iranian delegations did not meet directly, and the other parties to the deal acted as go-betweens (USIP; Washington Post). Iran's chief negotiator, Abbas Araghchi, said the talks were on "the right track" but that it was "too soon to say it has been successful" (USIP). When round 2 ended on April 20, the US had not rejoined the deal or lifted sanctions. The IAEA's February 23, 2021 report, as analysed by ISIS, showed Iran's low-enriched uranium stockpile far above the deal's limit, enrichment near 20% since January 4, and inspections under the Additional Protocol stopped as of February 23 (ISIS, USIP).

  • The Washington Post article
    Diplomacy can take time, and sometimes it is not at the pace that everyone would prefer
  • Public Broadcasting Service article
    Efforts to bring the United States back into the 2015 deal on Iran's nuclear program stepped up a gear Tuesday
  • iranprimer.usip.org article
    There has been some progress, but there remains a long road ahead,

Sources: The Washington Post reliable · Public Broadcasting Service reliable · iranprimer.usip.org needs a second source · isis-online.org needs a second source · Voice of America reliable

Feb 2021 US accepts an EU invitation to meet

On 18 February 2021, State Department spokesperson Ned Price said the US "would accept an invitation" from the EU High Representative to a meeting of the P5+1 and Iran. Middle East Eye reported that the US and the E3 (UK, France and Germany) released a joint statement that day, and that Secretary of State Blinken reiterated that if Iran returned to strict compliance with the JCPOA, the US would do the same. By then the US had not rejoined the deal or lifted sanctions. What it had done was drop the previous administration's claim that UN sanctions had been reinstated ("snapback") and ease travel limits on Iranian diplomats at the UN (State Department briefing). On 28 February Iran's foreign ministry spokesman said the "time isn't ripe" for the meeting. A US official said the administration was "disappointed" but still open to talks.

  • middleeasteye.net article
    would accept an invitation from the European Union High Representative to attend a meeting of the P5+1 and Iran
  • 2021-2025.state.gov statement
    this is just a very first initial step to say that we are prepared to attend the meeting
  • pressreader.com article
    the U.S. was “disappointed” in the rejection but was flexible as to the timing and format of the talks

Sources: middleeasteye.net needs a second source · thenationalnews.com needs a second source · 2021-2025.state.gov needs a second source

Sep 2020 – ongoing Biden pledges to rejoin the JCPOA (Sept–Nov 2020)

In a September 2020 op-ed for CNN, as quoted by NBC News, The Hill and USIP, candidate Joe Biden wrote that if Iran returned to strict compliance with the 2015 nuclear deal, the US would rejoin it as a starting point for follow-on negotiations. After the election, NBC News, calling him President-elect, reported that he "has promised to rejoin" the deal if Iran abides by it. In November 2020, NBC News also reported, citing the IAEA, that Iran had built up 12 times the low-enriched uranium allowed under the deal, gone above its enrichment levels and installed more centrifuges than it permits. At that point Biden was not in office, NBC and The Hill described any talks as something for his term, and NBC reported that the Trump administration was "imposing fresh sanctions this week." Iran's leaders said they were ready to talk if Washington honoured the deal's terms.

  • CNN article
    I will offer Tehran a credible path back to diplomacy. If Iran returns to strict compliance with the nuclear deal, the United States would rejoin the agreement as a starting point for follow-on negotiations,
  • NBC News article
    Iran has amassed 12 times the amount of low enriched uranium allowed under the agreement, exceeded enrichment levels set by the deal and introduced more centrifuges than permitted by the accord, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency.
  • The Hill article
    By any objective measure, Trump's 'maximum pressure' has been a boon to the regime in Iran and a bust for America's interests,

Sources: NBC News reliable · The Hill reliable · iranprimer.usip.org needs a second source

Jun 2020 – Aug 2020 A deal promised if Trump is re-elected

On June 5, 2020, after Iran released Navy veteran Michael White, President Trump tweeted: "Don't wait until after U.S. Election to make the Big deal. I'm going to win. You'll make a better deal now!" On August 9, 2020, at a New Jersey fundraiser, he said, "If we win … we will have a deal with Iran within four weeks." Times of Israel reported that Trump "did not elaborate." The US had left the JCPOA in May 2018, and Iran had said after Soleimani's killing in January 2020 that it would no longer honor any part of the deal. Tehran had rejected negotiating a new deal with the US (Newsweek; Times of Israel). The IAEA's June 5, 2020 report put Iran's low-enriched uranium stockpile at about 1,571 kg, against the deal's 300 kg limit, while saying Iran still complied with monitoring and verification (Arms Control Association summary of the report).

  • Newsweek (pre–2013) article
    Don't wait until after U.S. Election to make the Big deal. I'm going to win. You'll make a better deal now!
  • timesofisrael.com article
    "If we win," he told a group of cheering supporters at a fundraising event in New Jersey on Sunday, "we will have a deal with Iran within four weeks."

Sources: Newsweek (pre–2013) needs a second source · Yahoo News reliable · timesofisrael.com needs a second source · armscontrol.org needs a second source · 2017-2021.state.gov needs a second source

Aug 2019 Possible Trump–Rouhani meeting at the Biarritz G7

On Aug. 26, 2019, at the end of the G7 summit in Biarritz, Trump said he would meet Rouhani "if the circumstances were correct or right." He said he wanted a longer nuclear agreement that would bar nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles and expand surveillance of possible weapons sites (Air Force Times/Defense News; Axios). Macron said he hoped the meeting would happen within weeks and lead to a new nuclear deal (Axios). By then, Trump had withdrawn the US from the 2015 deal in May 2018 and reimposed sanctions (The Hill; Al Jazeera). The IAEA had verified on July 1, 2019 that Iran's enriched uranium stockpile exceeded the deal's 300 kg limit (The Hill). On Aug. 27 Rouhani said there would be no talks until sanctions were lifted (Al Jazeera).

  • airforcetimes.com article
    If the circumstances were correct or right, I would certainly agree to that,
  • Axios article
    Macron sounded bullish, saying he hoped the meeting would take place within weeks and ultimately lead to a new nuclear deal.
  • Al Jazeera article
    Without America withdrawing from sanctions and abandoning the wrong path it has chosen, we will not witness any positive development.
  • c-span.org video Watch

Sources: fortune.com reliable · Axios reliable · Al Jazeera reliable · The Hill reliable

May 2019 Call me

On 9 May 2019, a year after Trump withdrew the US from the 2015 nuclear deal and a day after new US sanctions on Iran, Trump told reporters he would like Iran's leaders to "call me." The same day, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo quoted him as looking forward to meeting Iran's leaders "in order to work out an agreement" (AP via Fox News). CNN reported, citing a diplomatic source, that the White House gave the Swiss a phone number Iran could use to call the President. On 27 May in Tokyo, Trump said he believed Iran would like to talk and, according to Al Jazeera, that "we'll make a deal." By then, a commander in Iran's Revolutionary Guard had said "there will be no negotiations with America," and on 8 May Iran had said it would scale back its compliance with the deal, giving European countries 60 days (CNN; AP via PBS).

  • Fox News article
    What I would like to see with Iran, I would like to see them call me,
  • CNN article
    the White House contacted the Swiss on Thursday to share a phone number the Iranians could call the President on
  • trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov statement
    And I do believe that Iran would like to talk.

Sources: Fox News needs a second source · CNN reliable · trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov reliable · Al Jazeera reliable · Public Broadcasting Service reliable

May 2018 US withdraws and predicts a "new and lasting deal"

On May 8, 2018, President Trump announced that the US would withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal (JCPOA) and said he would sign a memorandum "to begin reinstating U.S. nuclear sanctions on the Iranian regime." In the same speech he predicted that Iran's leaders "will naturally say that they refuse to negotiate a new deal," and then said "they are going to want to make a new and lasting deal… When they do, I am ready, willing, and able." The Atlantic Council wrote that Iran opposed renegotiating the deal. Al Jazeera described the withdrawal as fulfilling his campaign promise to cancel the 2015 deal. It also reported that the IAEA "has repeatedly confirmed that Tehran has been meeting its nuclear commitments fully." On May 9 the IAEA said it "can confirm that the nuclear-related commitments are being implemented by Iran."

  • trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov statement
    But the fact is they are going to want to make a new and lasting deal, one that benefits all of Iran and the Iranian people. When they do, I am ready, willing, and able.
  • trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov statement
    President Donald J. Trump is terminating the United States' participation in the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) with Iran and re-imposing sanctions lifted under the deal.
  • c-span.org video Watch

Sources: trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov reliable · Al Jazeera reliable · iaea.org needs a second source · atlanticcouncil.org needs a second source

Oct 2017 Decertification and the call to "fix" the deal

On Oct. 13, 2017, Trump said he "cannot and will not" certify the deal under INARA (the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act). He told his administration to "work closely with Congress and our allies to address the deal's many serious flaws," and said the deal was "under continuous review" and that it "will be terminated" if no solution was reached. The US stayed in the deal at that point, and Trump had certified it twice before. The Post reported that Iran's President Rouhani had said he would not reopen the agreement for negotiation.

  • trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov statement
    in the event we are not able to reach a solution working with Congress and our allies, then the agreement will be terminated.
  • The Washington Post article
    President Trump is expected to announce next week that he will 'decertify' the international nuclear deal with Iran
  • wicker.senate.gov statement
    Decertification does not end U.S. participation in the agreement, but it does represent the first step toward negotiating a better deal.
  • cnbc.com video Watch transcript
    in the event we are not able to reach a solution working with Congress and our allies, then the agreement will be terminated.

Sources: CNN reliable · trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov reliable · The Washington Post reliable

Mar 2016 Trump tells AIPAC his "number one priority" is to dismantle the Iran deal

On March 21, 2016, Donald Trump, then the Republican front-runner, told the AIPAC Policy Conference in Washington, "My number one priority is to dismantle the disastrous deal with Iran" (Fox, CBS). Later in the same speech he said that "at the very least, we must enforce the terms of the previous deal."

  • timesofisrael.com statement
    My number-one priority is to dismantle the disastrous deal with Iran.
  • cbsnews.com article
    Trump spent the majority of the address bashing the Iranian nuclear deal, as he has done many times on the campaign trail.
  • Fox News article
    “My number one priority is to dismantle the disastrous deal with Iran,” Trump said to applause.
  • c-span.org video Watch

Sources: cbsnews.com reliable · timesofisrael.com needs a second source