TEHRAN (Dispatches) – U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Washington will no longer waive sanctions related to Iran’s Fordow nuclear plant.
"President (Hassan) Rouhani recently announced that Iran will begin uranium enrichment activities at the Fordow facility. Therefore, the United States will terminate the sanctions waiver related to the nuclear facility at Fordow, effective December 15th, 2019," Pompeo told reporters on Monday, Reuters reported.
The U.S. State Department had said last month that it renewed waivers for 90 days.
Republican Senators Ted Cruz, Lindsey Graham and Liz Cheney praised the decision and called on the Trump administration to also end the waiver for the Arak heavy water reactor, where Chinese state-owned China National Nuclear Corp has operated.
Kelsey Davenport, director of the Arms Control Association, said Monday’s decision could further jeopardize the 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers, known as Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araqchi, in a meeting with Dutch Foreign Minister Stef Blok, reiterated that Tehran will keep reducing its nuclear commitments according to the terms of the 2015 deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), unless the Islamic Republic benefits from the dividends enshrined in the agreement.