Biden administration restores sanctions waiver to Iran

The Biden administration has restored a sanctions waiver to Iran, a senior State Department official said, as indirect talks between Washington and Tehran on returning to the 2015 nuclear agreement entered the final stretch.

The waiver, which was rescinded by the Trump administration in May 2020, had allowed Russian, Chinese and European companies to carry out non-proliferation work at Iranian nuclear sites.

The waiver was needed to allow for technical discussions that were key to the negotiations about returning to the deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the State Department official said.

“The technical discussions facilitated by the waiver are necessary in the final weeks of JCPOA talks,” said the official, adding that even if a final deal is not reached, the waiver is important to holding discussions on the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons – of interest to the entire world.

The US steps on lifting sanctions are “good but not enough”, Iran’s foreign minister said on Saturday.

“The lifting of some sanctions can, in the true sense of the word, translate into their good will. Americans talk about it, but it should be known that what happens on paper is good but not enough,” Hossein Amir-Abdollahian was quoted as saying by ISNA news agency.

Iran’s security chief Ali Shamkhani reacted to the news on Saturday by saying that Iran has the right to a peaceful nuclear programme.

“Iran’s legal right to continue research and development and to maintain its peaceful nuclear capabilities and achievements, along with its security against supported evils, cannot be restricted by any agreement,” he tweeted.

The waiver announcement prompted hawks in Washington to accuse the Biden administration of giving concessions without securing any commitments from Iran.

Richard Goldberg, a senior adviser with the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), an American think-tank that supports sanctions on Iran, said the US should not support any level of Iranian nuclear activity.

Mikhail Ulyanov, Russia’s chief negotiator in the Vienna talks, called such assessments “dishonest”.

“Opponents of JCPOA are the main supporters of nuclear proliferation. Period,” he tweeted, in reference to their opposition of a deal that seeks to curb Iran’s nuclear programme.

In a tweet to clarify its Friday move, State Department spokesman Ned Price said the move does not signify sanctions relief and is contingent on Tehran returning to its commitments under the nuclear deal.

“We did precisely what the last administration did: permit our international partners to address growing nuclear nonproliferation and safety risks in Iran,” he said in a tweet.