One year ago, the United States and its partners concluded their negotiations with Iran on the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), an agreement intended to reduce the threat from Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for economic sanctions relief. Implementation of the agreement began in January 2016. Richard Nephew, program director for economic statecraft, sanctions and energy markets at the Center on Global Energy Policy, who was the lead sanctions negotiator for the United States from 2013-2014, has written a report on six months’ implementation of the nuclear deal, particularly with respect to sanctions relief. He concludes that sanctions relief has been stalled as much by concerns over residual sanctions as domestic regulatory factors and low oil prices globally.
On this episode of Columbia Energy Exchange, host Bill Loveless sits down with Nephew to discuss his report and the status of the Iran agreement’s implementation at 6 months. Among the topics they discuss are:
- Is the agreement delivering to all sides the benefits it provided for?
- How has Iran’s oil sector responded to the lifting of nuclear sanctions?
- What impediments face oil companies looking for business opportunities in Iran?
- What’s in store for the next president when it comes to the Iran agreement?
