Trump renews sanctions waivers to allow Russia, China and Europe to continue nuclear work in Iran

Move comes despite pressure from foreign policy hawks in Washington who have been warning Trump to stop issuing them

Donald Trump signs a document reinstating sanctions against Iran after announcing withdrawal from the nuclear deal in May 2018 (AFP/Getty)

The Trump administration will once again issue sanctions waivers to allow Russia, China and Europe to continue nuclear nonproliferation work in Iran, Reuters reported.

The periodic waivers grant exemptions from US sanctions against Iran, and allow foreign companies to collaborate on the civilian nuclear programme with Iran’s Atomic Energy Organisation.

These exemptions give permission to non-US companies to work at two nuclear facilities in Iran. The Russian company Rosatom has worked at the fuel enrichment plant in Fordow and China National Nuclear Corporation has worked at the heavy water research reactor in Arak.

The renewal of waivers comes amid much pressure from foreign policy hawks in Washington who have been calling on the US president to discontinue these exemptions.

Republican Senators Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Ted Cruz of Texas, criticised President Trump for the decision and said the waivers would allow Iran to build up its nuclear programme.

"This is disappointing and another lost opportunity to tear up the catastrophic Obama-Iran nuclear deal once and for all," the two senators said in a joint statement. “President Trump should immediately order his administration to stop issuing civil nuclear waivers.”

Experts say there are two reasons for Mr Trump’s decision. “The first is that continuing these waivers is so obviously in the national security interest of the United States that even this administration is not blind to their benefits,” said Joseph Cirincione, president of the Ploughshares Fund, a nuclear weapons policy organisation in Washington.

“The second is that Trump wants to keep the sliver of a possibility of at least meeting with the Iranians before he is engulfed with impeachment and a tough re-election fight,” he told The Independent.

Mr Cirincione believes that North Korea and Iran are the only two places in the world where Mr Trump might secure some sort of diplomatic victory before the end of his term. “Both are long shots, but continuing the waivers gives him the possibility of a come-from-behind win,” he added.

Last year Mr Trump pulled the United States out of the 2015 landmark nuclear deal with Iran, despite strong opposition from other signatories to the international agreement including US allies in Europe.

The US administration then gradually re-imposed sanctions on Iran that target all of the country’s major industries.

After one year of full compliance with the deal, Iran retaliated against the US withdrawal and started taking incremental steps to move away from its commitments under the deal.

Daryl Kimball, executive director of the Arms Control Association in Washington, said the Trump administration’s decision to renew waivers is merely the US complying with earlier commitments. “I think it means they don’t have a reason to end the waivers, which would only give Iran another reason to further breach JCPOA limits,” he told The Independent. “We are looking closely to see what Iran does next week to take a ‘fourth step’ away from the JCPOA,” Mr Kimball added, referring to the 2015 nuclear deal.

Mr Trump has long criticised his predecessor Barack Obama for making the “worst” deal with Iran and claimed that as a capable “deal-maker”, he would be able to make a much stronger agreement.

It is not clear if the US president is still hoping to negotiate a new deal with Iran through some form of diplomacy. But the latest move could be a step in that direction, if that is where Mr Trump is hoping to head.