The Biden administration has recently renewed sanctions waivers for Iran, allowing international nuclear cooperation projects to proceed while indirect U.S.-Iranian negotiations to revive the 2015 atomic deal near their conclusion, according to a Reuters report.
The waivers permitted Russian, Chinese, and European companies to conduct non-proliferation work, making it harder for Iran to utilize its nuclear facilities for weapons development.
According to Eurasia Group analyst Henry Rome, the reinstatement of the waiver is a small indicator of progress.
"The waivers are less a goodwill gesture or a concession to Iran, but rather technical steps that are probably aimed at ensuring implementation discussions can go forward in Vienna," Rome said.
The waivers were previously canceled by the U.S. in 2019 and 2020, after former President Donald Trump withdrew from the nuclear agreement, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
Following Trump's decision in 2018 to withdraw the U.S. from the JCPOA, Iran started to defy the agreement's nuclear restrictions.
Biden has sworn to return the U.S. to the JCPOA, which was initially negotiated under previous President Barack Obama.
Recently, the State Department recently delivered a report to Congress, signed by Secretary of State Antony Blinken, indicating that restoring the exemptions would support the Vienna negotiations aimed at reestablishing a deal established between Iran and several countries, including China, France, Germany, Russia, the U.K., and the U.S.
Since April, the US and Iran have conducted eight rounds of indirect negotiations in Vienna aimed at reestablishing the agreement that removed sanctions in return for Iran's nuclear program being restricted.
These indirect negotiations are also meant to bring the US back into the JCPOA while simultaneously putting pressure on Iran to return to compliance.
Although no official statement regarding the start of the ninth round has been made, current expectations indicate that it will begin this week.
