US Lawmaker Says Biden Is Preparing For An Iran Deal Worse Than JCPOA

Republican Representative Michael McCaul has said that the US waiver of some sanctions on Iran’s nuclear program shows Washington is reaching a deal with Tehran.

The twitter account for the House Committee on Foreign Affairs quoted McCaul Saturday as saying that the Biden administration “is preparing to cut a nuclear deal with Iran that would be worse than the original JCPOA”.

“We already know Iran will enter any new deal closer to amassing enough fuel for a nuclear weapon than it was under the JCPOA”, the Texas representative said.

Earlier On Friday, State Department spokesperson Ned Price said the waiver was not a sanctions relief and emphasized that the US will not provide sanctions relief to Tehran before it returns to its commitments under 2015 nuclear deal.

President Joe Biden's administration restored the sanctions waivers to allow international nuclear cooperation projects, drawing congressional criticism on the administration’s Iran strategy.

The waivers allow Russian, Chinese and European companies to continue cooperating with Tehran's non-proliferation projects including electricity generation at Bushehr nuclear power plant, Arak heavy water production facilities, and the Tehran Research Reactor. The Trump administration which pulled out of the JCPOA in May 2018 rescinded the waivers in 2019 and 2020 as part of his "maximum pressure" campaign.