The U.S. Extends Suspension of Iran's Nuclear Sanctions While Increasing Missile Sanctions

The Donald Trump administration on Wednesday, May 17, extended the suspension of Iran's nuclear sanctions for another 120 days while simultaneously imposing new penalties against Tehran due to its missile activities. According to the Associated Press, the U.S. State Department has informed Congress that it will continue the suspension of Iran's nuclear sanctions as part of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). The last time the Barack Obama administration extended this suspension was before leaving the White House in January of this year. The suspension of Iran's nuclear sanctions is part of an agreement between Iran and six world powers reached in July 2015, under which Tehran agreed to halt many of its nuclear activities. In recent weeks, the Trump administration announced that Iran has fulfilled its commitments under the JCPOA but added that it is seeking to review the agreement. Washington has stated that it will remain committed to implementing the JCPOA until that time. According to Reuters, Stuart Jones, a senior U.S. diplomat responsible for Middle Eastern affairs, said on Wednesday, 'The ongoing review will not halt our continued confrontation with Iran's destabilizing actions in the region, such as supporting the Assad regime, backing terrorist organizations like Hezbollah, or supporting violent militias to undermine the governments of Iraq and Yemen.' He added, 'Most importantly, the United States will never allow the Iranian regime to acquire nuclear weapons.' The British newspaper Financial Times reported on Monday, citing three U.S. officials, that non-American companies trading with Iran will be exempt from the lifted sanctions. However, alongside this decision, the new U.S. administration has listed seven Iranian and Chinese individuals and entities involved in the Islamic Republic's ballistic missile activities in its sanctions list to demonstrate its hardline stance towards Tehran. Reuters reported that the new sanctions list regarding Iran's missile program includes names such as Morteza Farastpour and Rahim Ahmadi from Iran's Ministry of Defense and a Chinese national named Ryan Rowling. According to the U.S. Treasury Department, Farastpour was involved in the sale and transfer of explosives and other materials to a Syrian government entity. Ahmadi is the director of the Shahid Bakri Industrial Group, which is responsible for the solid fuel program for Iran's ballistic missiles. The U.S. Treasury Department's new missile sanctions also include three Chinese institutions: 'Shanghai North Beijings International,' 'Shanghai Gang Kuan Trade,' and 'Shanghai North Transway International,' along with the Iranian company 'Matin Sanat Nik Andishan.'