“The United States is not standing in the way and will not stand in the way of business that is permitted with Iran since the [nuclear deal] took effect”, Kerry read from prepared text.
Advertisement
Prior to the global agreement, Iran was three months away from being able to develop a nuclear weapon. “It’s been done. Even the United States did it'”.Zarif said he hoped Kerry’s clarification would help, though he noted that “we will continue to have differences with the United States”.IIPA via Getty ImagesThis handout image supplied by the IIPA (Iran International Photo Agency) shows a view of the reactor building at the Russian-built Bushehr nuclear power plant as the first fuel is loaded, on August 21, 2010 in Bushehr, southern Iran.
The U.S. is buying 32 tonnes of heavy water, which is used in some nuclear reactors, from Iran, BBC News reports. The United States says it will buy heavy water from Iran’s nuclear program and expects it to be delivered within a few weeks.
Kerry said it was understandable that some companies might need time to feel confident about doing business in Iran.
Senior Iranian nuclear negotiator Abbas Araqchi said the Atomic Energy Organisation of Iran (AEOI) and a U.S. company have signed an agreement on Friday to sell the heavy water.
Zanganeh further referred to an upcoming visit to Iran by South African President Jacob Zuma hoped for enhanced cooperation between the two countries.
The sale of heavy water has been criticized by those who opposed the deal with Iran, saying it essentially funds their nuclear program, keeping it alive. Tehran has complained that the U.S.is dragging its feet, while Iran has completed its responsibilities under the agreement.
Iran’s key economic sectors had been under USA imposed sanctions for conducting a series of nuclear tests from 1995 up until the terms of the new nuclear deal were fulfilled by Tehran.
Current U.S. policy bars foreign banks from clearing dollar-based transactions with Iran through U.S. banks, and those restrictions will continue.
Heavy water, formed with a hydrogen isotope, is not radioactive but has research and medical applications and can be used to produce weapons-grade plutonium.
That did not sway congressional Republicans.
“Once again, the Obama administration is handing Iran’s radical regime more cash”, said Rep. Ed Royce, R-Calif., the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
Heavy water is an important component in processing nuclear material.
Advertisement
The tribunal ordered the sum be paid to the families of the victims of the explosion, which targeted a US Marine Corps barracks in the Lebanese capital, and other attacks blamed on Iran. But if it does it is possible that it could provide the world community with an opportunity to do business in Iran without further exacerbating American lawmakers’ concerns about the prospect of the Obama administration granting Iran access to the United States financial system.
