EXPLAINER: Can world powers curb Iran in new nuclear talks?

Can the landmark 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers be restored

JERUSALEM -- Can the landmark 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers be restored? As Iran and six global powers gather in Vienna Monday to discuss the tattered treaty, the answer appears to be no.

Since then-President Donald Trump withdrew from the agreement in 2018, Iran has raced forward with its nuclear program, making it all but impossible to simply turn back the clock. The election of a hard-line leader in Iran, coupled with a U.S. administration seen as weak in the region, have further dampened prospects for a breakthrough.

The outlook appears so grim that prominent voices in Israel, which pushed Trump to withdraw from the deal, are now saying the move was a huge mistake.

Former Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon, who fiercely opposed the original deal, was one of the rare Israeli voices to argue against withdrawal at the time. He now says the U.S. pullout has turned out to be the “main mistake” in the region of the past decade.