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Abstract

This essay addresses several aspects related to the compliance and enforcement framework of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and its lessons for a Middle East WMD-Free Zone (ME WMDFZ): Who makes compliance and enforcement decisions under the JCPOA? Specifically, who decides when a participant in the Iran nuclear deal is in non-compliance with the terms of the agreement, and how is this decision made? What are the mechanisms in the deal to enforce compliance, and how well have these worked to date? Finally, what lessons does the JCPOA experience provide for negotiation and implementation of an ME WMDFZ? The essay answers these questions in four sections. The first section gives a brief overview of the governance structure of the JCPOA, with a focus on its compliance and enforcement framework. The next section looks at the Dispute Resolution Mechanism (DRM), the principal structure established to resolve disputes between JCPOA participants when claims of non-compliance occur. The essay then examines in the third section the sanctions snapback provision, which is the main means of enforcing an Iranian return to compliance. A fourth section reflects on the lessons we can draw from the roughly five years of operation of the JCPOA’s compliance and enforcement framework for a future ME WMDFZ.

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