Now, with U.S.-Iran tensions at new heights, some experts say a conflict could break out at any time.<br />So what exactly is this 2015 nuclear deal that has led to the tug-of-war between Washington and Tehran?<br />Our Kim Da-mi explains.<br />It all dates back to the summer of 2015 when Iran agreed to a long-term deal on its nuclear program with world powers, including the U.S., the UK, France and Germany.<br />With Iran's alleged efforts to develop a nuclear weapon, the international community decided it had to act.<br />Under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, Iran agreed to limit its sensitive nuclear activities,... such as slashing its stockpile of low-enriched uranium by 98 percent.<br />Enriched uranium is used to make fuel for nuclear reactors,...but is also used in nuclear weapons.<br />Iran also promised to keep enrichment levels at around four percent until 2030.<br />By January 2016, Iran did drastically reduce the number of centrifuges installed at its two main facilities Natanz and Fordo.<br />The International Atomic Energy Agency also had regular access to all Iranian nuclear facilities,... monitoring Tehran's compliance with the deal.<br />At the time of the agreement, the then-Obama administration believed the agreement would prevent Iran from secretly developing a nuclear weapon.<br />By the end of 2015, the IAEA ended its decade-long investigation monitoring Iran's nuclear program, concluding there were "no credible indications" of weapons development.<br />Instead, an agreement to continue a UN arms embargo on the country for up to five years and to uphold a UN ban on the import of ballistic missile technology for up to eight years was added to the deal.<br />But in May 2018, the situation changed dramatically when the Trump administration abandoned the deal, saying Iran had not disclosed a past covert nuclear weapons program to the IAEA.<br />U.S. President Donald Trump reinstated crushing sanctions last November, targeting both Iran and any countries that trade with it.<br />Iran's economy felt the effect almost immediately, its currency rapidly shed value and inflation soared.<br />And now, with Iran reacting to U.S. pressure by suspending its commitment to the deal by exceeding its previously-agreed enrichment level,... and vowing to keep raising it every 60 days,... Washington-Tehran tensions look set to worsen before they get any better.<br />Kim Da-mi, Arirang News.<br />
