The Trump administration has again approved a series of sanctions waivers on Iran that permit the Islamic Republic to engage in sensitive nuclear work, including at a clandestine military location that has housed the country’s weapons program, according to multiple sources involved in the issue.
The sanctions waivers have already been approved by the State Department, according to multiple U.S. officials and congressional sources who spoke to the Washington Free Beacon. The Trump administration faced backlash earlier this year when it bucked congressional pressure to approve the waivers, a move that led Iran hawks on Capitol Hill to accuse the administration of approving a pathway for Tehran to continue some of its most contested nuclear research.
The waivers permit countries such as China and Russia to continue performing work at Iranian nuclear facilities, some of which have drawn concerns from the international community for potentially helping Iran gain the know-how to build a functional nuclear weapon. European companies involved in Iran’s nuclear program also will be given a pass. The nuclear waivers were initially waived for a period of several months earlier this year, and have now come up again for a required extension, which the administration will grant.
Leading GOP members of Congress have criticized the administration’s decision, telling the Free Beacon that President Donald Trump is undermining his own maximum pressure campaign on Tehran by allowing his State Department to keep signing off on the controversial waivers. – READ MORE