Joe Biden has so many competing priorities to address after four years of Donald Trump that it is hard to know where to start. Biden will naturally have an immediate focus on domestic issues but some foreign policy challenges will demand his attention earlier than others. One of the most urgent is the nuclear agreement with Iran – formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA – which Trump unilaterally withdrew from in 2018.
In response to Trump’s abrogation of the deal, Tehran forged ahead with a range of “reversible’” moves designed to give it leverage in the event of future negotiations. Biden is already on record saying that he would re-join the JCPOA, which the other parties (UK, France, China, Russia, Germany and the European Union) continue to honour, if Tehran returns to strict compliance.