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US Cancels Civil Nuclear Cooperation Waiver for Iran

Associated Press

   WASHINGTON - Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Monday he is canceling
   one of four sanctions waivers that had allowed foreign companies to
   work with Iran's civilian nuclear program without U.S. penalties.
   Pompeo also warned Iran's leadership not to crack down on protests that
   recent fuel price increases have sparked.

   The waivers are among the last remaining components of the 2015 nuclear
   deal the Trump administration withdrew from last year.

   Pompeo said the waiver for Iran's once-secret Fordow site will be
   eliminated Dec. 15. Iran recently announced it would resume uranium
   enrichment at the fortified facility, which is built into a mountain.

   "The right amount of uranium enrichment for the world's largest state
   sponsor of terrorism is zero," he said. "There is no legitimate reason
   for Iran to resume enrichment at this previously clandestine site. Iran
   should reverse its activity there immediately."

   Iran hawks in Congress have been pressing Pompeo to eliminate all the
   waivers but have most strenuously objected to the one that allowed
   Russian, Chinese and European companies to work at Fordow. The waivers
   for Fordow as well as the Bushehr nuclear power station, the Arak heavy
   water plant and the Tehran Research Reactor were last extended in late
   October.

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