February 07 2020
The Trump administration will extend sanctions waivers allowing limited work by foreign countries on Iran’s civil nuclear program for another 60 days, State Department executive Brian Hook announced January 30.
In an obvious effort to appease senators who have loudly opposed the waiver extensions in the past, Hook announced that the US has imposed sanctions on Ali-Akbar Salehi, a previous foreign minister of Iran who is now the head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran and played a major role in negotiating the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCOPOA) with the Obama Administration.
The Iranian Foreign Ministry, however, called the sanctions on Salehi “cruel.”
Officials said the waiver decision follows an internal disagreement between Secretary of State Michael Pompeo, who had advocated ending the waivers, and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, who urged extension.
Trump has imposed a raft of sanctions on Iran’s economy but has held off ending the four waivers that allow other participants in the deal—China, Russia and the UK—to cooperate on limited nuclear work with Iran.
The decision to extend the waivers for now avoids a confrontation with European nations who argue that the work allows them and the US to keep an eye on Iran’s nuclear program.