INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
sanctions exemption allowing foreign cooperation on some of Iran's civilian nuclear projects.The waiver, which was supposed to expire this
month, allows foreign corporations to do specific non-proliferation work at Iranian nuclear installations without being sanctioned by the
Its renewal was expected, and the State Department informed Congress on Friday, according to congressional aides.According to a department
official, the sanctions waiver was renewed "to permit third-country participation in specific initiatives relevant to nuclear
is unaware of any particular incident assisted by the previous waiver, according to the spokesperson, but "the waiver leaves open the
prospect of nonproliferation- and safety-related projects that would be in our national interest."The Trump administration secured waivers
before withdrawing from the landmark nuclear deal in 2018.Joe Biden has attempted to re-join the JCPOA in theory
As a resurrected agreement appeared to be within reach in February, his administration reinstated the waiver, citing the need to "enable
conversations that might help to close a deal."The waiver applied to civilian activities at sites including the Russian-built Bushehr
nuclear power plant, the Arak heavy water reactor and the Tehran research reactor.The extension of the waiver comes as Washington and Tehran
move closer to an accord that would curtail Iran's nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief
The European Union, which has mediated the indirect discussions, circulated a "final text" to resurrect the broken agreement on Monday.In an
effort to put pressure on Iran to resume cooperation with the nuclear deal, the administration has slapped successive rounds of sanctions
targeting the sale of Iranian oil and petrochemical items in recent months
Numerous companies were sanctioned by the State and Treasury departments last week for possible involvement in Iran's international
