High stakes as China hosts Iran and Russia for nuclear talks–BBC

New Delhi, Mar 14: Almost a decade after world powers reached a historic agreement to limit Iran's nuclear programme, the situation has reached a critical point, BBC in a detailed article reported. Iran is now closer than ever to having the capability to build a nuclear bomb, and the deal designed to prevent this is set to expire later this year.

"It's a real fork in the road moment," warns Dr Sanam Vakil from the Chatham House think tank, as reported in the BBC article "Without successful diplomacy, we could see Iran create nuclear weapons or face military action against the country."

The original deal, reached in 2015 under then-US President Barack Obama, imposed limits on Iran's nuclear activities in exchange for economic sanctions relief. However, when Donald Trump withdrew the US from the agreement in 2018 and reinstated sanctions, Iran gradually stopped following the deal's rules. Since then, Iran has sped up its uranium enrichment to levels near those needed for nuclear weapons.

Experts warn that Iran could now produce enough material for a nuclear bomb in less than a week. This has prompted urgent diplomatic talks involving the US, UK, China, France, Germany, and Russia. On Wednesday, the UN Security Council met privately to discuss Iran's nuclear activities.