The State Department has announced that it has imposed sanctions exemptions for oil exchanges with the Islamic Republic in order to give Iran access to some of its frozen assets in South Korea and Japan.
The US State Department has announced that it is waiving some of the sanctions on Iran’s illegal oil trade in order to give the Islamic Republic of Iran access to some of its frozen assets in South Korea and Japan.
According to the Washington Free Bacon website, according to a statement sent to Congress by the US State Department, the sanctions waiver was signed by US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, “allows the transfer of Iranian funds in restricted accounts to exporters in Japan and the Republic of Korea (South Korea).”
According to the report, a part of the US State Department statement states that this exemption will allow the release of Iranian money that was frozen as a result of US sanctions, without violating the law.
The State Department told Congress about the purpose of this action: “Issuing licenses to use these funds to repay exporters in these areas (South Korea and Japan) will enable these institutions to maintain exports of goods and services to Iran, and to provide a constant impetus to important bilateral relations and Iran’s foreign reserves.”
Sanctions on Iran’s oil trade were a clear policy of former President Donald Trump’s administration, which sought to reduce Iran’s exports to zero and prevent the Islamic Republic of Iran’s main source of revenue.
A State Department spokesman on Iran’s sanctions waiver explained that by signing the waiver, Blinken would actually give Japan and South Korea another 90 days to complete their dealings with Iran.
He explained in this regard: “The Secretary of State had previously signed an exemption (sanction) to allow funds in Iran’s restricted accounts in Japan and Korea to be used to repay Japanese and Korean companies that exported non-sanctioned items to Iran».
The State Department official then continued: “Transactions related to the reimbursement of these fees are sometimes time-consuming, which is why the Secretary of State extended the exemptions for another 90 days.”
Former US President Donald Trump withdrew from the agreement approved by the UN Security Council in May 2016, violating its commitments, and put a policy of “maximum pressure” on the agenda.
Joe Biden’s government officials have repeatedly acknowledged the failure of the maximum pressure policy, but have so far refused to take the necessary steps to return to the deal.
Washington says it is only willing to lift sanctions against Iran if the two sides return to the Security Council. Washington’s claim comes at a time when Iran’s commitments are somewhat verifiable, but the verification of the lifting of sanctions takes at least three to six months.
The Islamic Republic of Iran has emphasized that, given that the United States has been a party to the violation of the agreement, it is Washington that must return to the agreement with the lifting of sanctions, and that the fulfillment of US obligations needs to be verified. Tehran, of course, has emphasized that it is in no hurry to return to the agreement.