US revokes Iran nuclear programme sanctions waivers, to take action against two officials

The United States on Wednesday, May 27 ended all of the last vestiges of sanctions relief provided under the 2015 Iran nuclear deal. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced that the waivers will end following a 60-day wind-down period that is meant to allow businesses to cease operations.

'I am announcing the end of the sanctions waiver'

"I am announcing the end of the sanctions waiver covering all remaining JCPOA-originating nuclear projects in Iran -- the Arak reactor conversion, the provision of enriched uranium for the Tehran Research Reactor, and the export of Iran's spent and scrap research reactor fuel," Pompeo said in a statement.

According to an international media report, an exception would be made to provide a 90-day extension for the waiver that covers ongoing international support to Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant Unit 1 to ensure the safety of operations.

"We will continue to closely monitor all developments in Iran's nuclear program and can modify this waiver at any time," Pompeo said.

The US Secretary of State also announced that the United States will be imposing sanctions on the Iran nuclear officials, Majid Agha'i and Amjad Sazgar, "for engaging or attempting to engage in activities that have materially contributed to, or pose a risk of materially contributing to, the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction."

READ | UN calls for more to tackle new forms of aggression of using cyberattacks on healthcare facilities

Trump withdrew from the nuclear deal in 2018

In March, Pompeo had opposed extending the waivers, which are among the few remaining components of the nuclear deal that the administration has not cancelled. News agency AP quoting officials said Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin had prevailed in an internal debate by arguing the coronavirus pandemic made eliminating the waivers unpalatable at a time when the administration is being criticised for refusing to ease sanctions to deal with the outbreak.

President Donald Trump withdrew from the nuclear deal in 2018 and has steadily reimposed US sanctions on Iran that had been eased or lifted under its terms. The "civilian-nuclear cooperation" waivers allow foreign companies to do work at some of Iran's declared nuclear sites without becoming subject to US sanctions.

READ | US couple breaks Guinness World Record of wearing maximum t-shirts in 60 seconds

As per reports, deal supporters have said that the waivers give international experts a valuable window into Iran's atomic program that might otherwise not exist. Also, some of the work particularly at the Tehran reactor on nuclear isotopes that can be used in medicine is humanitarian in nature.

But Iran critics in Congress have pressed Pompeo to eliminate all the waivers, saying they should be revoked because they give Iran access to technology that could be used for nuclear weapons. These critics strenuously objected to the waiver that allowed work at Iran's once-secret Fordow facility, which is built into a mountain.

READ | US indicts ex-Venezuelan lawmaker linked with Maduro

READ | US Congress approves China sanctions over ethnic crackdown

(With AP inputs)