Biden administration waives sanctions on Iranian civilian nuclear activities as deal talks hang in balance

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Gen. Keane on what happens if Biden reenters ‘flawed’ Iran nuclear deal

President Biden seeks to reenter the Iran nuclear agreement to limit the creation of enriched uranium to make nuclear weapons.

The Biden administration has waived sanctions related to Iran’s civilian nuclear activities as part of its efforts to bring the regime back into compliance with the 2015 nuclear deal – while stressing that the waivers did not equal sanctions relief for Tehran.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken signed a waiver that restored the ability of foreign companies and other countries to participate in civilian nuclear and safety projects in Iran without facing U.S. sanction.

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The Wall Street Journal, which first reported the development on Friday, reported that the waivers are aimed at turning Iran’s heavy-water Arak reactor into a less-dangerous light-water reactor, and also applies to the export of enriched uranium and heavy water outside of Iran. The waivers would also allow fuel to be sent to two reactors used for civilian purposes.

A senior State Department official told Fox News Digital that the waivers were due to growing non-proliferation concerns with respect to increasing stockpiles of enriched uranium by Tehran, and that without the waiver, "detailed technical discussions with third parties regarding disposition of stockpiles and other activities of nonproliferation value cannot take place."

Feb. 4, 2022: Secretary of State Antony Blinken, left, speaks to the media before meeting with Polish Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau, not shown, at the State Dept. in Washington. (Nicholas Kamm/Pool via AP)

It comes as talks in Vienna have been continuing as part of the effort to bring both the U.S. and Iran back into the 2015 deal -- officially called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA.)

The Trump administration pulled the U.S. out of the Obama-era deal in 2018, and reimposed waves of pre-deal sanctions on Iran. The Biden administration has pledged to seek to re-enter it, one of a number of Trump-era international withdrawals that the new administration has sought to reverse.

Iran has also left the deal and has been increasing its aggression, including under new hardline President Ebrahim Raisi. Fox News reported this week that Iranian dissidents have been warning about Tehran’s use of naval proxy forces. The Journal, meanwhile, reported that the administration expects a restored deal would leave Iran capable of gaining enough fuel for a nuclear bomb in significantly less than a year.

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The senior State Department official said that the new waiver is "essential to ensuring Iran’s swift compliance with its nuclear commitments" and are necessary in the final weeks of the talks to bring Iran back into the 2015 deal.

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"The Trump administration provided a similar waiver for years, even after its reckless decision to leave the JCPOA, in recognition of this non-proliferation value," the official said. "We are now returning to that status quo." 

The Trump administration had issued the waiver in 2018 but had subsequently withdrawn it in May 2020 as part of its "maximum pressure" campaign against the fundamentalist regime.

The official also said that the waiver was not a sign that "an understanding on a mutual return to full implementation of the JCPOA" would soon be reached, and denied that it was a concession to Iran.

"We are issuing the waiver now for a simple reason: it will enable some of our international partners to have more detailed technical discussions to enable cooperation that we view as being in our non-proliferation interests," the official said.

State Department Press Secretary Ned Price stressed in a tweet that the administration "did NOT provide sanctions relief for Iran and WILL NOT until/unless Tehran returns to its commitments under the JCPOA."

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Talks have so far struggled to produce with results, with the hard line regime in Iran demanding sanctions relief first.

"If the other party removes the unjust sanctions, there will be possibility to revive the pact," Raisi told Iran's state TV, according to Reuters.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.