US, for now, retains Iran deal sanctions relief
The United States agreed Thursday to continue for now to exempt Iran from nuclear-related sanctions but slapped new measures on targets accused of cyber attacks or destabilizing the region.
The decision to continue to waive the sanctions was expected, but the new sanctions and some tough words from President Donald Trump will be seen as a victory for opponents of the Iran nuclear deal.
Trump is due to decide before October 15 whether Iran has breached the 2015 nuclear agreement, and critics fear he may abandon an accord they think prevents Tehran from building a nuclear bomb.
"You'll see what I'm going to be doing very shortly in October," Trump told reporters traveling with him on Air Force One. "The Iran deal is one of the worst deals I've ever seen.
"Certainly at a minimum the spirit of the deal is atrociously kept. The Iran deal is not a fair deal to this country. It's a deal that should not have ever been made."
Policy hawks welcomed the US Treasury's announcement of new sanctions on non-nuclear issues.
A senior administration official, speaking on condition of anonymity, called the waiver "a holding action."
"This is the action that the US is taking in the interim," he said, "while the president and his cabinet come to a final decision in consultation among themselves and in consultation with allies."
The 2015 Iran deal, approved by Trump's predecessor Barack Obama, was implemented under a Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA, and enshrined in UN Security Council Resolution 2231.
Under the JCPOA, Iran surrendered much of its enriched uranium, dismantled a reactor and submitted nuclear sites to UN inspection, while Washington and Europe lifted some sanctions.
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