How does Trump’s deal with Iran compare with Obama’s?

NEW YORK - US President Donald Trump has repeatedly said that any deal he made with Iran to curtail its nuclear programme would be different from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action that the Obama administration entered into in 2015.

He is not wrong.

The two agreements are indeed quite different, in large part because the current deal is broad, vague and intended as an interim arrangement meant to outline the negotiating path to a fuller deal. It is nowhere near as far-reaching as the earlier one, which Trump withdrew the United States from in 2018 during his first term as president.

That makes them difficult to compare.

The current memorandum of understanding is a general agreement to end the war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, putting off talks about Iran’s nuclear programme for a subsequent round of negotiations. The Obama-era agreement, sometimes referred to as the JCPOA or the Iran nuclear deal, was extremely detailed.

Here is how the two agreements compare, at least so far.

Who’s involved: The Obama-era deal involved Iran and the United States, and also China, France, Germany, Russia, Britain and the European Union. It addressed Iran’s nuclear programme.

The recently negotiated memorandum of understanding is an arrangement between Washington and Tehran that addresses the conflict that began with the US-Israeli attack on Iran in late February. It refers to the countries’ “allies in the current war” but does not name them. It mentions Lebanon’s sovereignty, but not Israel or Hezbollah, the Iran-backed Lebanese militant group that renewed fighting with Israel in March after the attack on Iran.

Iran’s nuclear programme: The 2015 Iran nuclear deal was a comprehensive plan to address Iranian nuclear ambitions and ensure the country’s programme was “exclusively peaceful.” It was 18 pages long and accompanied by dozens of pages of additional details about specific elements of the nuclear programme, monitoring, sanctions relief and more.

The current memo is 14 paragraphs long. It states that Iran commits to not having a nuclear weapon but leaves all details to further negotiations in the 60 days following finalization, a time period that can be extended if both sides agree.

Sanctions relief for Iran: The JCPOA tied sanctions relief for Iran to specific goals related to its nuclear programme. In the current agreement, the United States is explicitly committing to “terminate all types of sanctions” against Iran, on “an agreed-upon schedule as part of the final deal.” JCPOA, meanwhile, was a final arrangement.

Other financial relief: The current agreement commits the United States and regional partners to develop a plan for a fund with a minimum of US$300 billion (S$386 billion) for reconstruction in Iran – an issue that was not on the table during previous negotiations, as they were not prompted by war.

It also states that the United States will grant any required licenses, waivers and permissions needed for financial transactions related to the fund. Trump administration officials have said Iran will only receive these financial benefits and sanctions relief if it complies with its obligations under the agreements, but does not specify what precisely it must do to qualify for reconstruction funds.

Takeaways: Trump has said many times that his agreement with Iran will serve as a “wall” blocking the country’s ability to make nuclear weapons and has called the JCPOA “a road to a nuclear weapon.” But since the details of a final deal have yet to be determined, it is impossible to say whether an ultimate arrangement would in fact be superior.

• This article originally appeared in The New York Times.