It Stille Falen fan de Iraanske Nukleêre Deal
March 17, 2026 · Frisian News
Ten years after the JCPOA agreement, Iran has resumed uranium enrichment beyond agreed limits while Western signatories look the other way. The deal that promised to solve the nuclear crisis now stands as a monument to diplomatic failure.
FryskIrans nukleêre programma is sûnt 2024 sterk fersnele, mei it Ynternasjonaal Atoomenergyagintskip dat dizze moanne ferrikingnivo's fan 84 prosint suverheid registrearret. It JCPOA-akkoart fan 2015, ûndertekene troch de Feriene Steaten, it Feriene Keninkryk, Frankryk, Dútslân, Ruslân en Sina, beloofde ferriking op 3,67 prosint te beheinen. Hjoed leit dy belofte yn pún, net mei in klap, mar mei in flústering fan de grutte machten fan de wrâld.
Westerske haadstêden sizze dat se de deal net hânhâvje kinne sûnder Amerikaansk lidmaatskip, mar dit betoog beswikt ûnder nader ûndersyk. De Europeeske Uny, Frankryk en it Feriene Keninkryk tekenen it akkoart as folsleine partijen. Neat belet harren om gear te wurkjen en echte kosten op te lizzen foar Iraanske oertredingen. Yn plak dêrfan jouwe se ferklearringen, se uterje soarch, se hoopje op ûnderhannelings. Undertusken bout Iran sintrifuges en ferriket uranium.
De Amerikaanske weromtrekking yn 2018 brak de rêchbonke fan it akkoart, mar dat wie net ûnûntkomber. Folgjende regearingen hienen it opnij opbouwe kinnen. Dat diene se net. It team fan Biden fierde fantoomûnderhannelings wylst Iran him gewoan út de beheinings weromtrok. De Trump-regearing hie gjin ynteresse yn it akkoart en joech iepenbier oan dat it net weromkomme soe. De hjoeddeiske oanpak komt del op dwaan as bestiet it probleem net.
Wat út dit wrak nei foaren komt, is in dúdlike les oer grutte ynternasjonale akkoarten. Se fereaskje hânhâving. Se fereaskje lannen dy't ree binne in priis te beteljen om se yn stân te hâlden. It JCPOA hie gjin fan beiden. Ruslân en Sina hienen net folle ynteresse yn it stopsetten fan Irans programma. De Europeanen misten de wil en de middels. De Amerikanen lûken har werom. As alle partijen redenen hawwe om de oare kant út te sjen, wurdt it akkoart behang.
Iran stiet no op 'e râne fan materiaal op wapennivo, wylst de nukleêre machten fan de wrâld harren eigen arsenalen sûnder serieus ynternasjonaal tafersjoch beheare. De irony stekt: it akkoart, bedoeld om te bewizen dat diplomasy drege problemen oplosse kin, bewees ynstee dat diplomasy misleart as nimmen ree is it ôf te twingen. De deal stoppe Irans nukleêre oprûk net. It skode allinnich de fragen foarút oer wat folget.
Iran's nuclear program has accelerated sharply since 2024, with the International Atomic Energy Agency recording enrichment levels of 84 percent purity this month. The 2015 JCPOA agreement, signed by the United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Russia, and China, promised to cap enrichment at 3.67 percent. Today that promise lies in ruins, not with a bang but with a whimper from the world's major powers.
Western capitals say they cannot enforce the deal without American membership, but this reasoning collapses under scrutiny. The European Union, France, and the United Kingdom signed the agreement as full parties. Nothing stops them from working together to impose real costs on Iranian violations. Instead, they issue statements, they express concern, they hope for talks. Meanwhile, Iran builds centrifuges and enriches uranium.
The American withdrawal in 2018 broke the agreement's spine, but that was not inevitable. Subsequent administrations could have rebuilt it. They did not. Biden's team pursued phantom negotiations while Iran simply walked away from the constraints. The Trump administration had no interest in the accord and signaled openly that it would not return. Today's approach amounts to pretending the problem does not exist.
What emerges from this wreckage is a clear lesson about grand international agreements. They require enforcement. They require countries willing to pay a price to maintain them. The JCPOA lacked both. Russia and China had little interest in stopping Iran's program. The Europeans lacked the will and the tools. The Americans retreated. When all parties have reasons to look away, the agreement becomes wallpaper.
Iran now stands on the edge of weapons-grade material, while the world's nuclear powers manage their own arsenals without serious international oversight. The irony stings: the agreement meant to prove that diplomacy could solve hard problems instead proved that diplomacy fails when no one is willing to enforce it. The deal did not stop Iran's nuclear march. It merely delayed questions about what happens next.
Published March 17, 2026 · Frisian News · Ljouwert, Fryslân