The United States will buy heavy water from Iran’s nuclear program and expects it to be delivered within weeks, us officials said on Friday, a move that Republican lawmakers quickly criticized.
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“Produce too much heavy water so as to break the nuclear agreement, then get the Obama administration and eventually USA companies to pay Tehran to get rid of it. Rinse, repeat”, Dubowitz said.
The main obstacle, the Europeans say, is their ally, and the driving force behind the historic nuclear agreement, the United States.
The United States won’t stand in the way of foreign business deals with nonsanctioned Iranian firms, Secretary of State John Kerry said Friday.
Managing director of National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) Roknodin Javadi had also noted the possible transfer of Iranian oil to the American oil company called Chevron South Africa Private Limited during the post-sanction period adding “on the basis of the Iranian government’s policies, there exists no ban on the sale of crude oil to USA refineries in the African country”. ‘That will be a statement to the world: “You want to buy heavy water from Iran, you can buy heavy water from Iran”. Tehran has complained that the U.S.is dragging its feet, while Iran has completed its responsibilities under the agreement.
“Once again, the Obama administration is handing Iran’s radical regime more cash”, declared Ed Royce, chairman of the House foreign affairs committee.
“Iran is already the world’s leading exporter of terrorism and violence”.
Araqchi estimated that Iran has about 70 tonnes in excess of what it needs and said further sales are being negotiated with another company that is not based in the US.
“The United States will not be Iran’s customer forever”, the DEO said, according to The Guardian.
Iran’s powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, which is still the target of USA sanctions, in particular has extensive business interests and ties in Iran which can be hard for foreigners to discern, so businesses must take pains to be sure they are not unwittingly violating sanctions by engaging with them.
Administration officials have repeatedly said the Republican concern is misplaced and denied speculation, fueled in part by comments Kerry himself made after his first meeting with Zarif on Tuesday, that any changes are coming.
Iran’s heavy water was tested in the States past year, with test results putting its purity at 75.99 percent. This risky precedent could pave the way for either additional transactions with Iran or allow Iran to enter the USA financial system.
In theory, the European Union lifted its nuclear-related sanctions against Tehran at the same time as Washington. “But U.S. officials said Iran has been struggling to find buyers for the material on the worldwide market and that its stockpile is at risk of rising above that level”. The State Department said Friday that “Iran was below the 130-metric ton threshold before” the purchase.
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The U.S. doesn’t produce heavy water domestically, and largely has been purchasing the material from Canada and other foreign countries in recent years.
