The US confirmed restoring sanctions waiver to Iran, marking a notable achievement for Iran following regional and trans-regional activism in recent months.
According to a top US source, Washington has revived sanctions waiver to Tehran less than two years after revocation. This is while indirect discussions between Iran and the United States on restoring the JCPOA is nearing the final stages.
Donald Trump, while in office as US president, revoked he Iran’s sanctions waiver 21 months ago. The Waiver had enabled foreign corporations to collaborate with peaceful Iranian nuclear plants without facing potential punishments.
The same official, from the US department of state, explained that the waiver facilitates the technical negotiations. The technical negotiations are critical to the talks about reviving the deal.
Even if no achievement occurs on final agreement, the waiver is critical for having conversations on nuclear non-proliferation. The official further explicated that these issues are incessant global concerns and need to be addressed in the long run.
In a primary response by Iran to the US move, the country’s foreign minister welcomed it as “good but not enough”. Amirabdollahian explained that “the lifting of some sanctions can, in the true sense of the word, translate into their good will. Americans talk about it, but what happens on paper is good but not enough.”
Shamkhani, a prominent Iranian security figure, took a more tough approach, reiterating Iran’s rightful claim on peaceful nuclear program. “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 asserted in a post ion twitter.
Using various leverages, Iran seems to have been successful in securing its interests during the nuclear talks with world powers.
Sanctions Waiver; Implications
The news of the waiver spurred conservatives in Washington to criticize the Biden government for showing a soft fist without gaining any Iranian pledges. Washington shouldn’t tolerate any degree of nuclear development, according to Richard Goldberg, an adviser at Foundation for Defense of Democracies. The FDD is an American research organization that advocates pressure against Tehran.
State Department spokesperson tried to justify the move and relieve some pressure over the government. He argued that that the step doesn’t imply sanctions removal and is conditional on Iran’s adherence to nuclear agreement’s provisions. “We did precisely what the last administration did: permit our international partners to address growing nuclear nonproliferation and safety risks in Iran,” Ned price claimed in his twitter post.
Tehran and Washington have been engaging in indirect talks in Vienna through the recent months to resurrect the nuclear agreement. The original agreement, JCPOA, made Iran to curtail its nuclear development in return for the removal of global economic sanctions.
Donald Trump unilaterally pulled the US out of the agreement two years after taking power. The former president began a “maximum pressure” campaign against Iran. Tehran retaliated by expanding its nuclear capability far beyond the deal’s constraints.
Taking the power in 2021, Joe Biden has promised to reinstate the pact, but multiple rounds of discussions in the Vienna have been unable to negotiate a way back into it. Biden and his closest advisers have also cautioned that the door of chance for rescuing the agreement is narrowing, as Iran gains irreversible nuclear capabilities.
On the other side, Iran utilized regional activism along with diplomatic seriousness to gain more leverages. US decision on sanctions waiver indicates Iran’s accomplishment in meeting the aims. Biden administration has been put at the corner of the ring by Tehran policies.
