US cracks down on Iran uranium production, nuclear plant

US cracks down on Iran uranium production, nuclear plant
The United States acted on Friday (May 3) to force Iran to stop producing low-enriched uranium and expanding its only nuclear power plant, intensifying a campaign aimed at halting Tehran’s ballistic missile program and curbing its regional power, Reuters reported.

At the same time, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo renewed waivers of US sanctions allowing Russia, China and European countries to pursue cooperation programs designed to prevent Iranian regime from reactivating a defunct nuclear weapons program.

But, the State Department said, the renewable waivers would be granted only for 90 days, a shorter period than previously.

The moves are part of the Trump administration’s efforts to impose international political and economic isolation on Tehran that began with the US withdrawal in May 2018 from the 2015 nuclear deal negotiated with Iran by the United States and other world powers.

It was the third punitive action taken against Iran in as many weeks. Last week, it said it would grant no more sanctions waivers for countries buying Iranian oil, accelerating its plan to push Iran’s oil exports to zero. The Trump administration also took the unprecedented step of designating Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a foreign terrorist organization.

The US actions announced on Friday included an end to a sanctions waiver that allowed Iran to evade a 300-kg limit on the amount of low-enriched uranium it can store under the nuclear deal at its main nuclear facility of Natanz.

The move, State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said in a statement, is aimed at forcing Iran to end its production of low-enriched uranium, a demand that Iran has repeatedly rejected.

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