The latest round of nuclear negotiations between the Iran and six other major world powers is in process in the Swiss city of Lausanne. These talks have been ongoing for the past two years.

What Issues Are Being Negotiated Between the P5+1 and Iran?

Both the West and Iran agree that the Iran should have a peaceful nuclear energy program, but not a nuclear weapons program. The question is how to get to that point, how much should Iran have to give up, and when and how should sanctions against Iran be lifted.

For the past 18 months, since the interim agreement, the countries have been working toward a final-status agreement that would cover all the major issues between Iran and the West on the subjects of Iranian nuclear program and international sanctions against Iran.

The major issues from the Western countries' point of view is one, the amount of enriched uranium that Iran has, how many centrifuges (see below for explanation) would be operational, and the frequency and quality of international inspections of Iranian nuclear sites.

The White House has said that it wants to achieve by the end of March is a “framework agreement.” This agreement has also been described as a “declaration principles” and a “diplomatic understanding.” This “framework” would look like a one or two page document that would establish the principles for finding a resolution to the major issues on the table and serve as an agenda for continuing talks and lead to a more comprehensive agreement by the first of July.

The U.S. says that agreement that they are aiming for would keep Iran at least a year from the capacity to build a nuclear weapon. And that the agreement would keep Iran a year from that capacity for the next 10 to 15 years.

Furthermore, the U.S. is aiming to create a system of international monitoring of Iran's nuclear program, which would make its more transparent to the International Atomic Energy Agency. Western powers are also demanding that cameras are installed in all of Iran's nuclear locations, which would transmit what is happening in all of Iran's facilities.

Iran is looking for all international sanctions to be lifted immediately upon signing the peace deal. It would also like for the limits on Iranian uranium enrichment and development to be lifted after the first 10 years.

The U.S. is pushing for international sanctions to only be lifted for six months at a time, thus giving the U.S. and U.N. to re-instate the sanctions if it believes that Iran is not complying with the nuclear energy agreements. Iran has said that having such a short time frame for the lifting of sanctions would give the U.S. and its allies to much leverage in being able to impose new requirements outside of the initial agreements between Iran and the P5+1.

What Is the P5+1?

The P5+1 is a group of six powerful nations. P5 refers to the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council: the U.K., France, China, Russia, and the U.S. The +1 is Germany. In 2006, they came together in diplomatic efforts with Iran to begin negotiating over Iran's nuclear program.

Germany is the key trading partner with Iran. More than 12,000 German companies have their own trade representatives in Iran. Iran's nuclear program is dependent on German services and products.

How Long Have Negotiations with Iran Been Happening?

For more than a decade Iran and Western nations have been negotiating around Iran's nuclear program. Direct negotiations gained new traction since Hassan Rohani won the Iranian presidential elections in the summer of June 2013.

In November 2013, there emerged an interim agreement, called the “Joint Plan of Action,” in which Iran agreed to stop enriching uranium at 20 percent, and to primarily enrich uranium at 3-5 percent and in exchange Western nations began easing international sanctions.

The more 20 percent enriched uranium Iran has, the easier it would be for them to be able to get to 90 percent enriched uranium, and thus be able to create a bomb.

Does Iran have a Nuclear Weapons Program?

The short answer is, not as far as we know.

There is concern by the P5+1 of how close Iran has come in the past to building a nuclear weapon. Not only does one need fuel to power the nuclear bomb, one also needs a device that can use the fissile material (explained below). So the P5+1 want to know what was built in the past and to neutralize the device if one exists.

What Are the Sanctions against Iran?

After the Iranian Revolution in 1979, the U.S. imposed sanctions on Iran. In 1995, the U.S. expanded the sanctions to include sanctions against companies that were dealing with Iran.

The U.N. Security Council in 2006, also imposed sanctions after Iran made it clear it would not halt its nuclear power program. In 2010, the U.S. Congress in further reaction to the Iranian nuclear program, placed stringent sanctions on Iran. In the January 2012, the EU placed an oil embargo on Iran and froze the assets of Iran's central bank. Other countries outside of the U.S. and the EU placed sanctions on Iran, including Australia, Canada, India, Israel, Japan and South Korea.

The Congressional Research Service said that Iranian economy is 15 to 20 percent smaller than it would have been without the sanctions that came about since 2010. The sanctions stop Iran from being able to access about US$80 billion in reserves Iran holds in international accounts.

Furthermore, in 2010, Iran sold about 2.5 million barrels of oil a day, four years later, it only sells around one million barrels per day. Even considering this, oil is still 42 percent of the Iranian government revenues.

What is Fissile Material?

In order to make a nuclear bomb you need something called, fissile material, which is fuel for the bomb. There are two types of fissile material: highly enriched uranium (differences for power and weapons explained below) and highly enriched plutonium.

What Is Uranium-235?

Highly enriched uranium comes from separating uranium-235 from uranium, itself. Uranium-235 is less than one percent of regular uranium, and separating it is a very difficult process. Highly enriched plutonium comes from burning uranium in a reactor. Plutonium a man-made element. Either way you need uranium in order to make fuel for nuclear bomb.

Iran has mainly focused on producing highly enriched uranium.

What Is a Centrifuge?

A centrifuge is the machine that separates uranium-235 from the rest of the uranium. There are about 10,000 centrifuges in operation in Iran. Iran has 19,000 centrifuges, and operates about 10,000 of those centrifuges currently.

The U.S. wants to reduce the number Iranian centrifuges, so that it can be certain that Iran would not be able to use them to quickly create enough uranium-235 to create a nuclear weapon. Iran has agreed in the peace negotiations to reduce the number of centrifuges to 6,000.

What Is the Difference Between Uranium for Power and Weapons?

Iran has about eight tons of uranium, which has been enriched to a level of 3.5 to 5 percent. If the 90 percent of the uranium was enriched, rather than the three to five percent, that would be enough to create five or six nuclear bombs. You only need 3-5 percent enrichment for a nuclear plant.

Iran has agreed to transfer most of its enriched uranium to Russia. Then Iran will receive nuclear fuel rods for the reactor in Bushehr. Iran would keep 350 to 500 kilograms of uranium enriched at 3.5 to 5 percent, and thus would not be capable of quickly creating a nuclear bomb.