US restores sanctions waiver to Iran in final phase of nuclear talks

The move is not a signal that Washington was about to reach an understanding to return to the nuclear deal.

 Iran's chief nuclear negotiator Ali Bagheri Kani and members of the Iranian delegation wait for the start of a meeting of the JCPOA Joint Commission in Vienna, Austria November 29, 2021. (photo credit: EU DELEGATION IN VIENNA/HANDOUT VIA REUTERS)
Iran's chief nuclear negotiator Ali Bagheri Kani and members of the Iranian delegation wait for the start of a meeting of the JCPOA Joint Commission in Vienna, Austria November 29, 2021.
(photo credit: EU DELEGATION IN VIENNA/HANDOUT VIA REUTERS)

The Biden administration on Friday restored a sanctions waiver to Iran, a senior State Department official said, as indirect talks between the United States and Iran on returning to the 2015 nuclear agreement have entered the final stretch.

The technical discussions facilitated by the waiver are necessary in the final weeks of the talks, the official said but added that it was not a signal that Washington was about to reach an understanding to return to the deal formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

A general view of Palais Coburg, the site of a meeting of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), in Vienna, Austria, November 29, 2021. (credit: REUTERS/LISI NIESNER)
A general view of Palais Coburg, the site of a meeting of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), in Vienna, Austria, November 29, 2021. (credit: REUTERS/LISI NIESNER)