The Biden administration may conduct a major rollback of sanctions imposed by former President Donald Trump against Iran.
The move is meant to support efforts to get the Islamic republic back to a landmark 2015 nuclear accord that sought to curb its ability to develop enough weapons grade material for a nuclear bomb.
According to sources familiar with the matter, the plan is being discussed and U.S. officials are trying to determine the extent of what they are prepared to offer Iran. Sources said indirect talks are ongoing in Vienna and Iran is adamant about the removal of all U.S. sanctions.
U.S. officials involved in the discussions have refused to say which sanctions are being considered for removal. However, Biden administration officials have said that they are open to lifting some sanctions to get Iran back to compliance with the nuclear accord.
Political experts said due to the nature of the sanctions, some non-nuclear sanctions could be lifted if Iran includes them in their demands. This might include sanctions tied to Iranian terrorism and human rights violations. Administration officials have denied that they are willing to remove non-nuclear sanctions.
"Any return to the (Iran nuclear deal) would require sanctions relief, but we are considering removing only those sanctions that are inconsistent ...we would retain and continue to implement sanctions on Iran for activities not covered by the (Iran nuclear deal)," State Department spokesman, Ned Price, said.
Officials had accused the previous administration of attempting to stymie any return to the accord. Former President Trump re-imposed sanctions against Iran after the country withdrew from the deal in 2018. Trump also added layers of new sanctions against Iran.
Experts said the layers of sanctions imposed by the Trump administration have placed Biden in an awkward position. Iran is currently demanding the removal of all sanctions for it to halt all of its nuclear activities violating the JCPOA.
State Department officials said they are still looking through every sanction to determine whether they were legitimately imposed. Former officials of the Trump administration have argued that all of the sanctions are legitimate as they were approved by career Justice Department lawyers.
