US President Donald Trump has decided to waive sanctions on Iran that are required by the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), also known as the Iran nuclear deal, according to his administration.
"The President's decision is to waive once more nuclear sanctions that the terms of the JCPOA require the United States to waive in order to remain in the deal but in a statement the President will make clear that this is the last such waiver he will issue," senior administration officials told reporters.
According to a senior US government official cited by Reuters, the US president wants to strengthen the 2015 Iran nuclear deal with a follow-on agreement in 120 days or the US will withdraw from it.
In addition, Trump also reportedly wants to ament law related to the issue in order to say that the United States views Iran's long-range missile program as inseparable from its nuclear program.
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Simultaneously, the US Department of Treasury has added 14 individuals to the sanctions list related to Iran's ballistic missile program.
"Today, the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated 14 individuals and entities in connection with serious human rights abuses and censorship in Iran, and support to designated Iranian weapons proliferators," the release said.
After the US State Department announced that the US administration was expected to decide on extending the sanctions waiver on Friday as the deadline loomed, EU top diplomats have strongly reiterated support for the nuclear deal, emphasizing that Iran was honoring its obligations under the agreement.
Separately, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said earlier this week that Tehran regretted that one of the parties to the nuclear deal didn't fulfill its obligations under the agreement but made attempts to hamper its implementation instead.
The Iran deal, also known as the JCPOA, that was signed in July 2015 by Tehran and the P5+1 group of nations — the United States, Russia, China, France and the United Kingdom plus Germany, stipulates a gradual lifting of sanctions imposed on the Islamic Republic in exchange for the country maintaining peaceful nature of its nuclear program.
