The US government has announced an end to the exemptions for other Iranian nuclear facilities. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the Arak reactor and the research reactor in Tehran were affected. Accordingly, the permits expire after a final 60-day processing phase.
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For the Bushehr nuclear power plant the exemption will be extended by 90 days to ensure the security of the operation. Pompeo warned that this approval can also be changed at any time.
The exemptions have so far enabled Russia and European countries to cooperate with Iran on certain projects on Iranian nuclear facilities, despite the current US sanctions against Iran. This should also ensure the civil character of the activities there.
Pompeo also announced US sanctions against two leaders in Iran’s nuclear program. A government like that in Tehran“Whoever threatens to wipe Israel off the map should never have a nuclear weapon,” said Pompeo. The US exemption for the Fordo plant had expired in mid-December.
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The United States had unilaterally withdrawn from the Vienna 2015 nuclear agreement in 2018 and had imposed sanctions on Iran. In the agreement with the five UN veto powers and Germany, Iran had previously committed to designing its nuclear program so that the country cannot build atomic bombs. After the exit of the United States under President Donald Trump, Iran gradually gave up more and more rules of the agreement.
New regulation to increase pressure on Tehran
The killing of the Iranian general Qasem Soleimani in early January had finally escalated the nuclear dispute. Iran had announced that it would want to enrich uranium without restrictions in the future. In March, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Iran meanwhile tripled its uranium supply.
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Controllers had shown concern, even though the uranium was apparently not yet sufficiently enriched to build an atomic bomb. With the end of the exemptions, the US is pursuing its “maximum pressure” strategy against the leadership in Tehran. Iran should be forced to renegotiate the nuclear deal and then have to agree to stricter conditions.
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