United States Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, on Wednesday announced in a press release that he has ended the sanctions waiver related to the 2015 Iran nuclear deal with world powers which will be effective in 60 days.
The United States withdrew from this accord, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action or JCPOA, in 2018, citing the regime’s malign behavior. Yet, there were some sanctions waivers.
“Today, I am announcing the end of the sanctions waiver covering all remaining JCPOA-originating nuclear projects in Iran – the Arak reactor conversion, the provision of enriched uranium for the Tehran Research Reactor, and the export of Iran’s spent and scrap research reactor fuel. The sanctions waiver covering these activities will end following a final, 60-day wind-down period allowing companies and entities involved in these activities to cease their operations.,” said Secretary Pompeo.
“I am also announcing the designation of Majid Agha’i and Amjad Sazgar pursuant to E.O. 13382 for engaging or attempting to engage in activities that have materially contributed to, or pose a risk of materially contributing to, the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. Sazgar is the Managing Director of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran entity responsible for the industrial-scale production of uranium enrichment gas centrifuge machines. In 2019, Sazgar managed and supervised the installation of centrifuges at Iran’s Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant. Through these activities, Sazgar has contributed to Iran’s continued provocative and destabilizing expansion of its nuclear capabilities. Agha’i has also been centrally involved in Iran’s uranium enrichment centrifuge operations, and is a manager in the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran subsidiary responsible for research and development of advanced centrifuges.,” he added.
“The Iranian regime has continued its nuclear brinkmanship by expanding proliferation-sensitive activities. These escalatory actions are unacceptable and I cannot justify renewing the waiver for these JCPOA-related activities as a result. The regime’s nuclear extortion will lead to increased pressure on Iran and further isolate the regime from the international community. Moreover, Iran’s nuclear personnel need to make a choice – work for Iranian proliferation organizations and risk being sanctioned or put their skills to work for the Iranian people in pursuits outside of the proliferation realm,” added Secretary Pompeo.
Later, during the State Department’s daily briefing, Brian Hook, the U.S. Special Representative for Iran, said: “Secretary Pompeo terminated the nuclear waiver for three remaining Iran nuclear-related projects. This includes the Arak reactor conversion, the provision of enriched uranium for the Tehran research reactor, and the export of Iran-spent and scrap research reactor fuel. The decision will take effect after a 60-day wind-down.“
“In 2019, Sazgar managed and supervised the installation of centrifuges at Iran’s Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant. He also managed uranium centrifuge activities that have contributed to Iran exceeding its enriched uranium stockpile in excess of its nuclear deal commitments. Agha’i has also been centrally involved in Iran’s uranium enrichment centrifuge operations and is a manager in the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran subsidiary that is responsible for research and development of advanced centrifuges. As a result of this action today, these two individuals have been added to Treasury’s SDN list,” Ambassador Hook added.
“We are taking these actions now because the regime continues to use its nuclear program to extort the international community. The Iranian regime’s threats are designed to intimidate nations into accepting Iran’s usual violent behavior for fear of something worse. We refuse to play by Iran’s rules,” said Ambassador Hook.
While referring to the Iranian economy’s devastation due to the regime’s policy of pursuing a nuclear bomb and wasting the national wealth, Ambassador Hook said Iran’s economy is especially grim because of the autocratic rule of the ayatollahs has proven to be an economic catastrophe for the Iranian people. Exports are down, the economy is in deep contraction, the budget is facing unprecedented pressures the government cannot fix, and access to foreign reserves is minimal.
In this regard, Mr. Alireza Jafarzadeh, deputy director of the U.S. Representative Office of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI-US), wrote on Twitter: “Long overdue and a commendable decision to deprive the Iranian regime of undue resources which the mullahs used to further enhance their nuclear weapons program, empower their proxies in the region, and suppress the Iranian people.”
Long overdue and a commendable decision to deprive the Iranian regime from undue resources which the mullahs used to further enhance their nuclear weapons program, empower their proxies in the region, and suppress the Iranian people. https://t.co/uLn4K56sRf
— Alireza Jafarzadeh (@A_Jafarzadeh) May 27, 2020
The Iranian regime used the JCPOA and the western governments’ policy of appeasement to increase its meddling in the Middle East.
The NCRI, using the information obtained by the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK), stared a campaign in 2002 to prevent the aggressive, virulently sectarian and repressive religious fascism from obtaining nuclear weapons capability, and saving Iran, the region, and the world from the horrors of such a scenario.
Indeed, were it not for the Iranian Resistance’s stunning revelation of the Natanz uranium enrichment site and the Arak Heavy Water facility in August 2002, and subsequent revelations, which unveiled the extent to which the regime’s clandestine nuclear weapons work had advanced, and which triggered inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and ensuing measures by the United Nations Security Council, the mullahs would have had the bomb by now and the fate of the Middle East and the world would not have been the same.
