WASHINGTON(Washington Insider Magazine) – Two prominent US officials stated Friday that the Biden office has reinstated a sanctions waiver which will allow nations to work with Iran on civil nuclear programs, a measure that arrives as US officials stress that the 2015 Iran nuclear deal is running out of time.
The waiver is not a favor to Iran, according to a key State Department official, nor is it a hint that we are close to reaching an agreement on a shared return to complete adherence to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the nuclear agreement’s formal name.
However, the initiative comes as officials engaged in current negotiations in Vienna focused on salvaging the deal — which the US pulled out of in 2018 and after which Iran has been more non-compliant — have reached a point when decisive political decisions are needed. The most recent round of negotiations has been postponed since last Friday.
The waiver reinstatement had been communicated to Capitol Hill, according to a legislative aide.
Companies and countries will be able to continue working on civil nuclear programs at Iran’s Bushehr nuclear power plant,Tehran Research Reactor and Arak heavy water plant because of the waivers.
Even after withdrawing from the 2015 agreement in 2018, the Trump administration granted a sanctions waiver for such activity under the 2015 accord, claiming that it served to “preserve oversight of Iran’s civil nuclear program” and “reduce proliferation risks.”
However, then-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo indicated in May 2020 that the sanctions waiver will be lifted.
The reinstatement of the waiver, which was originally reported by the Associated Press, was described by a high-ranking State Department official as a restoration to the “status quo.”
Iran has been steadily breaking its pledges under the accord, and US officials have cautioned that due to Iran’s rapid nuclear advancement, there are just weeks left to revert to the pact. Before returning to compliance with the pact, Tehran has demanded broad sanctions relief.
Iran did not seek for the waiver to be reinstated, according to a senior administration official, and they do not consider it to constitute sanctions relief.
According to CNN, giving waivers to allow civil nuclear collaboration with Iran at a time when Iran is breaking the JCPOA is a strategic blunder, according to Behnam Ben Taleblu of the conservative Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD).
He also stated that the announcement of the waiver is the strongest indication yet that a revived Iran deal is on the way.
