Page 7 - IRANRptFeb22

2.0 Politics
2.1 US restores sanctions waivers on international
nuclear cooperation with Iran
The US on February 4 restored sanctions waivers to Iran that will clear the way for international nuclear cooperation projects. The move was made as the Vienna talks on reviving the 2015 nuclear deal, or JCPOA, between Tehran and six major powers enter what’s likely to be the final stage. Iran’s foreign ministry quickly welcomed the gesture, but said that it “is not sufficient”.
The waivers, revoked by former US president Donald Trump in 2019 and 2020, allowed Russian, Chinese and European companies to carry out non-proliferation work to essentially make it more difficult for Iran to use its nuclear sites for weapons development.
The activities now once more shielded by sanctions waivers include a redesign of Iran's Arak heavy-water reactor and the preparation and modification of its Fordow facility for stable isotope production, operations and training and services related to Iran’s Bushehr nuclear power plant, among other things.
The US and Iran have held eight rounds of indirect talks in Vienna since April aimed at reinstating the JCPOA that lifted major sanctions imposed on Tehran in exchange for restrictions on its nuclear programme aimed at ensuring it is kept entirely civilian. As Iran has not yet agreed to face to face talks with the US in the Austrian capital, officials of the three European states signed up to the nuclear act as intermediaries between the Iranian and American delegations.
Western diplomats remain anxious that Iran’s progress in nuclear advancement means there is now only a very narrow window to return to the JCPOA. Iran has always insisted it has no intention to develop a nuclear weapon, but its uranium enrichment knowhow has advanced considerable since Trump pulled the US out of the nuclear deal in May 2018, prompting Iran to gradually stop abiding by the JCPOA’s terms.
Reuters on February 4 reported an anonymous US state department official as saying that the waiver move was needed to allow for technical discussions key to the talks about a return to the deal. The official was reported as adding that restoring the waivers was not a signal that the US was on the point of reaching an understanding to return to the JCPOA.
Eurasia Group analyst Henry Rome told Reuters that the waiver restoration is a "modest sign" of movement.
"The waivers are less a goodwill gesture or a concession to Iran, but rather technical steps that are probably aimed at ensuring implementation discussions can go forward in Vienna," Rome said.
Hossein Amirab-Dollahian said in comments reported by Iranian media that "the lifting of some sanctions can in itself translate into good faith,” "While what is on paper is good, but it’s not enough,” he added.
7 IRAN Country Report February 2022 www.intellinews.com