The U.S. will purchase 32 tons of heavy water from Iran, in a deal valued at $8.6 million, the Wall Street Journal reported Friday, citing senior American officials. The fluid can be used in plutonium processing, but scientists also use it for research and medical applications. Members of Congress on Friday were criticizing the deal as another example of the Obama administration giving Iran more that it is entitled to.
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In a meeting with the EU Foreign Policy Chief Federica Mogherini in her recent Tehran visit, Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council of Iran Ali Shamkhani asked the EU to confront with what he called Washington’s “obstruction” of nuclear deal implementation.
“Our purchase of the heavy water means that it will instead be used for critically important research and non-nuclear industrial requirements”, spokesman Kirby said.
“Iran’s compliance with the JCPOA meant that this material had already been removed from Iran, ensuring that it would not be used to support the development of a nuclear weapon”, he said.
That did not sway congressional Republicans.
Administration officials have said repeatedly Iran will not get access to the dollar.
The assets belong to the Central Bank of Iran (CBI), which has been blocked under the USA sanctions. “Far from curbing its nuclear program, this encourages Iran to produce more heavy water to sell – with a stamp of US approval – on the global market”. Zarif said he hoped that Kerry’s comments would begin to open a different path. But, officials said Kerry would likely use the Friday meeting to remind Iranian officials and foreign banks and businesses that certain once-prohibited transactions with Iran are now allowed under USA law. “What we absolutely are not trying to do is become an obstacle in any way of foreign banks and institutions working with Iran through the sanctions relief process and doing legitimate business with Iran”. Those officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly.
He argued that the U.S.is seeking to continue its sanctions policy against Iran and is troubling the implementation of the JCPOA (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, aka nuclear deal).
The Obama administration insists it has met its obligations under the nuclear deal but acknowledges that some sanctions relief has been slow.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif arrives at a midtown Manhattan office building in NY, U.S. April 21, 2016.
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“The idea is: Okay, we tested it, it’s perfectly good heavy water”.
