Trump administration extends nuclear waivers for Iran

US President Donald Trump's administration is extending waivers that allow countries signed up to the Iran nuclear deal to participate in civil nuclear projects with Tehran, the State Department said.

The US will extend waivers that allow the remaining parties to the 2015 deal to conduct research and do non-proliferation work at three sites in Iran without fear of facing sanctions, according to the Department on Friday.

However, the waivers will be reduced from 180 days to 90, and State Department spokesperson Morgan Ortagus said in a statement that "assistance to expand Iran's Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant beyond the existing reactor unit could be sanctionable", CNN reported

Bushehr is one of the three facilities exempted from sanctions along with Arak and Fordow.

The waivers will allow modifications that ensure that the Arak reactor produces less plutonium, that the underground Fordow nuclear site can continue to be converted into a research facility, and that Iran can still buy the fuel it needs to run the reactor at Bushehr and produce electricity.

The US will also revoke two waivers that allowed Iran to ship its excess heavy water for storage and swap its enriched uranium for natural uranium, according to Ortagus.

"The decisions today enhance our ability to constrain Iran's nuclear program while pursuing maximum economic pressure," Brian Hook, the State Department special representative on Iran, told CNN on Friday.

The waivers will also, for the time being, avoid a clash with allies and partners who remain in the nuclear deal. Had the waivers ended completely, countries such as China, France, Russia, Germany and the UK as well as the European Union (EU) would have faced the stark choice of either violating the terms of the nuclear deal -- giving Tehran another reason to walk away -- or face US sanctions.

The provisions allowing for civil nuclear cooperation in the deal are meant to reduce the proliferation risks of Tehran's nuclear program.

"We are permitting the temporary continuation of certain ongoing non-proliferation projects that constrain Iran's nuclear activities and that help maintain the nuclear status quo in Iran until we reach a comprehensive deal that resolves Iran's proliferation threats," the State Department said.

Friday's development comes after the administration's decision to end waivers that allowed countries, including India, to import Iranian oil on May 2.

--IANS

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