US extends civil nuclear cooperation waivers for Iran

Trump ministration is keeping alive one of last remaining components of 2015 Iran nuclear deal by extending sanctions waivers that allow foreign companies to work with Iran’s civilian nuclear program without U.S. penalties.

waivers h been due to expire Tuesday but were extended by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo for ar 90 days. extensions were t anunced until Thursday.

Pompeo has been a champion of President Donald Trump’s maximum pressure campaign on Iran.

State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said move “will help preserve oversight of Iran’s civil nuclear program, reduce proliferation risks, constrain Iran’s ability to shorten its ‘breakout time’ to a nuclear weapon, and prevent regime from reconstituting sites for proliferation-sensitive purposes.”

Pompeo also anunced new sanctions on Iran’s construction sector, which he determines to be under control of Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps. IRGC was designated earlier this year as a “foreign terrorist organization.”

Trump withdrew last year from nuclear deal and has steily ramped up sanctions on Iran that h been eased under agreement. But so-called “civilian nuclear cooperation” waivers will permit European, Russian and Chinese companies to continue to work at Iranian civilian nuclear facilities.

Nuclear deal critics, including Trump allies like Republican Sens. Ted Cruz of Texas and Tom Cotton of Arkansas, have long argued that waivers should be revoked because y give Iran access to techlogy that could be used for weapons. In particular, y have targeted a waiver that allows conversion work at once-secret Fordow site. or facilities are Bushehr nuclear power station, Arak heavy water plant and Tehran Research Reactor.

“This is disappointing and ar lost opportunity to tear up catastrophic Obama-Iran nuclear deal once and for all,” Cruz and Sen. Lindsey Graham said in a statement. “President Trump should immediately order his ministration to stop issuing civil nuclear waivers.”

y said y would soon vance legislation “to reverse this misguided decision.”

Deal supporters say waivers give international experts a valuable window into Iran’s atomic program that might orwise t exist. y also say some of work, particularly on nuclear isotopes that can be used in medicine at Tehran reactor, is humanitarian in nature.