Can sanctions removal verification secure the Iran nuclear deal?

Abstract

One of Iran’s key demands before its full return to the 2015 nuclear agreement is that the United States should go beyond just removing sanctions restored by Donald Trump in violation of the deal and guarantee the effectiveness of such measures for the revival of the Iranian economy. In contrast to the IAEA inspections mechanism, there is no sanctions removal verification mechanism or international guidelines on this matter. Having studied publications by experts from Iran and other countries, the authors offer general contours of sanctions removal verification model that consists of three parts: measures by the United States to ease the sanctions regime; list of factors that affect the result of sanctions removal; and economic indicators that can help measure the effect of sanctions removal.