Fact-checking Trump’s statements that the 2015 agreement gave Iran the right to possess nuclear weapons

This article originally appeared on PolitiFact

Just days after launching war on Iran, President Donald Trump favorably compared his efforts to eliminate Iran’s nuclear weapons capability to a 2015 deal negotiated by one of his predecessors. The nuclear agreement concluded by President Barack Obama with Iran was in effect until 2018, when Trump withdrew from the United States during his first term.

In response to questions in the Oval Office on March 3 with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Trump said that the agreement from which he withdrew “granted (Iran) the right to possess advanced nuclear weapons.”

He watches: Trump meets with German Merz as the scope of the American-Israeli conflict with Iran expands

His comments echoed Trump’s remarks the previous day at the Medal of Honor ceremony.

“I am very proud that the Iran nuclear deal was nullified by President Barack Hussein Obama,” Trump said. “This was a terrible, terrible, dangerous document. They were going to obtain (a nuclear weapon) legally, through a deal that our country foolishly signed.”

On March 4, Trump said at a roundtable on energy prices that the nuclear agreement “was a path to a nuclear weapon.”

Several experts told PolitiFact that, whatever its flaws, the Iran nuclear deal never gave Iran the “right” to “legitimately” possess nuclear weapons, “highest level” or otherwise.

Darryl Gee said: Kimball, executive director of the Arms Control Association, said the 2015 agreement — also known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA — “never gave Iran the right to possess advanced nuclear weapons.”

Read more: A new poll shows that a majority of Americans oppose military action in Iran

The White House referred PolitiFact to press secretary Carolyn Leavitt’s March 4 comments in which she referred to “stupid, naive deals that put Iran on a path to developing nuclear bombs.”

“After years of endless appeasement and empty statements from politicians on both sides of the political aisle in this city, President Trump is finally a man of action,” Leavitt said. “President Trump holds these monsters accountable and permanently eliminates their nuclear ambitions.”

What is the Iranian nuclear deal?

Obama had pledged in his election campaign to ensure that Iran would not obtain a nuclear weapon. The negotiated agreement was signed in 2015 by the United States and Iran as well as China, Russia, France, Germany and the United Kingdom.

Under the deal, Iran agreed to refrain from seeking nuclear weapons and allow ongoing monitoring of its compliance in exchange for easing economic sanctions. Different parts of the agreement were to last between 10 and 25 years; Some items were meant to last indefinitely. Obama officials expressed hope that negotiations would be resumed in the future.

Iran agreed to give up 97% of its stock of enriched uranium and 70% of its centrifuges, which are machines used to enrich uranium. It also agreed to stop plutonium production and dismantle the plutonium reactor. If Iran breaches any of these pledges, the other signatories would be able to reimpose sanctions, a process known as the “quick return” clause.

Some Democrats joined Republicans in opposing the agreement, but they did not have enough votes to block the agreement. Critics said the agreement did not address other actions taken by Iran, including supporting terrorism, and that it poses a threat to Israel.

AP explains: Iran’s nuclear program with the collapse of the 2015 agreement

Over the 28 months that the agreement was in effect, the International Atomic Energy Agency said it found that Iran had not committed any violations, except for some minor violations that were addressed.

When Trump ran for his first term, he echoed many of critics’ original concerns and promised to renegotiate the agreement.

He said he believed the agreement should have allowed international weapons inspectors greater access to Iranian military sites. He also said it should have addressed Iran’s missile program, including intercontinental ballistic missiles, which could reach the US mainland. He also criticized the agreement for failing to curb Iran’s support for sectarian violence in places like Syria and Yemen.

In 2018, Trump withdrew the United States from the deal. The United States then imposed economic sanctions on Iran, and Iran reduced its commitment to the agreement, including reducing its compliance with international inspectors.

In 2025, Trump ordered the US military to join Israel in bombing nuclear sites in Iran, seeking to end the nuclear program by force rather than negotiation. Then, on February 28, Trump launched a new, larger air campaign aimed at weakening Iran’s military capabilities and eliminating many members of its political and military leadership.

Why did the 2015 agreement not allow Iran to legally possess a nuclear weapon?

Experts said the problem with Trump’s recent statements is that he said the Iran nuclear deal gives Iran the right to possess nuclear weapons, and to obtain those weapons legally. This is not true.

The agreement was based on Iran continuing to join the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, or NPT, which requires Iran to agree to give up developing or acquiring nuclear weapons.

Richard Nephew, who worked for the US government on Iranian issues during the Biden administration, said that by signing the 2015 deal, Iran “explicitly committed not to possess a nuclear weapon, reflecting its commitment under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty not to possess a nuclear weapon.” “The whole purpose of the deal was to make sure they couldn’t do that.”

He added that while some aspects of the agreement would be phased out after 10 to 25 years, “there was no end to the no-arms commitment.”

Read more: Congress has not officially declared war since World War II. Here’s how presidential war powers have evolved since then

This does not mean that at some point, Iran could not have ended up possessing nuclear weapons – but if it had done so, it would have happened by violating the agreement, not by exercising a right it granted it.

“Any possession of nuclear weapons, under any circumstances, while Iran is a member of the NPT, cannot be considered ‘legitimate,’” said Brendan Green, a political science professor at the University of Cincinnati who specializes in nuclear weapons policy.

In one scenario cited by critics of the agreement, Iran, as a signatory to the treaty, would retain the right to generate civilian nuclear power. Ten years after the agreement, the provisions to reimpose sanctions were set to expire, and Iran was beginning to gain increased rights to nuclear enrichment capabilities, Green said.

At that point, Iran could have ignored the spirit or the letter of its agreements – or both – by diverting this nuclear enrichment material to weapons development. But this would have been inconsistent with the agreement, and contradicted the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty – something the agreement did not bless.

“If Iran misuses this enrichment capacity, it could be used to produce nuclear material needed to make a nuclear weapon,” said Gary Samore, a professor of politics at the Crown Center for Middle East Studies at Brandeis University.

Green said that even if “perfectly implemented,” the agreement “will always put Iran in a position where it can rush toward building a bomb if it chooses to do so.” “The debate was whether this was an acceptable outcome, or whether some sort of additional measures, ranging from war to further negotiations, would be necessary before the agreement expires.”

Our rule

Trump said that the nuclear agreement “granted (Iran) the right to possess advanced nuclear weapons.”

The nuclear agreement did not bless any Iranian “right” to obtain nuclear weapons, whether first-class or otherwise. On the contrary, Iran could have obtained or developed a nuclear weapon by defying the terms of the nuclear agreement.

This is because the agreement was based on Iran’s continued commitment to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, which Iran signed in 1970. This treaty considers Iran a non-nuclear state, meaning it promised to forego developing or obtaining nuclear weapons.

We rate the statement false.