US renews waivers on Iran N-work, sanctions Iran’s nuclear organization and its chief
WASHINGTON/PARIS: The United States on Thursday said it will allow Russian, Chinese and European companies to continue work at Iranian nuclear sites to make it harder for that country to develop a nuclear weapon but has imposed sanctions on Iran’s nuclear entity and its top official.
The Trump administration, which in 2018 pulled out of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal and reimposed sanctions on Iran, will let the work go forward by issuing waivers to sanctions that bar non-U.S. firms from dealing with the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran.
The waivers’ renewal for 60 days will allow nonproliferation work to continue at the Arak heavy-water research reactor, the Bushehr nuclear power plant, the Tehran Research Reactor and other nuclear cooperation initiatives.
“We will closely monitor all developments in Iran’s nuclear program and Secretary (Mike) Pompeo can end these projects as developments warrant,” Brian Hook, U.S. special representative for Iran, told a news briefing.
The United States on Thursday also placed Ali Akbar Salehi, head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI), and the organization itself under U.S. sanctions, Hook said. - Reuters