Wednesday June 23, 2021
US nuclear sanctions
Iran announces easing agreement
Talks to revive the nuclear deal with Iran have been going on for two months. Now Tehran is announcing a breakthrough: The US is ready to lift a large part of the sanctions imposed on the country under President Trump.
According to Iranian sources, the US has shown its willingness to lift all oil and shipping sanctions in the nuclear talks. According to state media, Mahmud Waesi, chief of staff of outgoing Iranian President Hassan Ruhani, will also remove some personalities from the blacklist. “An agreement has been reached to lift all insurance, oil and shipping sanctions imposed by Trump.”
In 2018, under the then President Donald Trump, the United States unilaterally withdrew from the nuclear deal with Iran and again imposed harsh economic sanctions on the country. Iran then gradually violated the conditions. The discussions on reviving the nuclear deal have been going on in Vienna since April; they were postponed on the Sunday after the sixth round.
Around 1,040 sanctions from the Trump era would be lifted, said Chief of Staff Waesi. “It was also agreed to lift some sanctions against individuals and members of the Supreme Leader’s inner circle.” Waesi was referring to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who is the spiritual and political head of the country and who ultimately has the say.
Federal Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said in Berlin that there was progress in the nuclear talks, but that “tough nuts” remained. Trump’s successor Joe Biden had announced his willingness to return to the 2015 agreement. The other signatory states Russia, China, Germany, Great Britain and France had always adhered to it. The moderate pragmatist Ruhani, during whose term of office the agreement was signed in 2015, will be replaced by hardliner Ebrahim Raisi at the beginning of August.
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