Introduction
The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the controversial international agreement to restrict Iran’s nuclear program, was implemented on January 16, 2016. After the International Atomic Energy Agency confirmed that Iran had fulfilled the necessary cutbacks to its nuclear program, the UN and the West repealed their debilitating nuclear-related economic and financial sanctions against the country. While some experts worry that Iran will use the opportunity to evade foreign pressures to promote domestic freedom and civil liberties within the country, other activists optimistically predict that increased trade and economic activity will reduce internal tensions and improve human rights conditions in Iran. Although supporters of both of these viewpoints raise legitimate claims, the reality is that any reasoning that predicts the direction of human rights in Iran will likely fall in between these two interpretations.
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