Iran Press/ Asia: On Wednesday, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced that the United States would end the waivers that allowed foreign companies to work on Iran deal-related nuclear projects after a 60-day wind-down period. The United States will provide a 90-day extension for the sanctions waiver for foreign entities engaged in work at the first unit of Iran's Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant.
"The JCPOA is the multilateral agreement that was approved by the relevant UN Security Council resolution, and it remains an important element of the international non-proliferation. This agreement is necessary for preserving peace and stability in the Middle East," Zhao said at a briefing on Saturday.
The diplomat noted that Washington had chosen the path of continuing the campaign to exert maximum pressure on Iran, recalling that the United States had unilaterally withdrawn from the agreement and tried to disrupt the execution of the deal by other parties.
"The latest US decision to cancel all exemptions from sanctions for relevant projects in the field of [peaceful] atom undermines the international progress made in the sphere of non-proliferation, as well as the efforts of the parties to maintain the JCPOA ... China stands resolutely against this," Zhao said.
In 2015, Iran signed the JCPOA with China, France, Germany, Russia, the United Kingdom, the United States, and the European Union. The agreement required Tehran to scale back its nuclear program and severely downgrade its uranium reserves in exchange for sanctions relief, including lifting the arms embargo five years after the deal's adoption.
However, on May 8, 2018, the United States abandoned its conciliatory policy on Iran, withdrawing from the JCPOA and placing sanctions on Iranian petroleum industries.
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US to cease sanctions waiver on Iran's nuclear plant: Pompeo
