Muristek
Washington, February 5
The Biden administration on Friday restored some sanctions relief to Iran's atomic programme as talks aimed at salvaging the languishing 2015 nuclear deal enter a critical phase.
As US negotiators head back to Vienna for what could be a make-or-break session, Secretary of State Antony Blinken signed several sanctions waivers related to Iran's civilian nuclear activities. The move reverses the Trump administration's decision to rescind them.
The waivers are ultimately intended to entice Iran back to the 2015 deal that it has been violating since former President Donald Trump withdrew from the agreement in 2018 and reimposed US sanctions. In the short term, the waivers will exempt foreign countries and companies that work in Iran's civilian nuclear sector from American penalties.
US officials said that is critical to building support for a return to the deal and denied they were granting Iran any concessions. The officials said the waivers were necessary to bring the other parties to the deal — Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the European Union — on board.
"We did not provide sanctions relief for Iran and will not until/unless Tehran returns to its commitments under the JCPOA," State Department spokesman Ned Price tweeted, using the acronym for the official name of the nuclear deal, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.
"We did precisely what the last administration did: permit our international partners to address growing nuclear nonproliferation and safety risks in Iran," Price said.
The Trump administration had grudgingly approved the waivers, which apply to Chinese, Russian and European companies, even after withdrawing from the deal. But that ended when former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo rescinded them in May 2020. — AP
Insufficient, says foreign minister
Tehran: Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian on Saturday welcomed US sanctions relief, but called it insufficient. "Lifting some sanctions in a real and objective manner can be interpreted as the goodwill that Americans talk about," Amirabdollahian said. However, he said the move "is not sufficient". AP
Enticing Tehran back to 2015 pact
The waivers are intended to attract Tehran back to the 2015 Iran nuclear deal that it has been violating since former President Donald Trump withdrew from the agreement in 2018 and re-imposed US sanctions.