The Biden administration has allowed a series of sanctions waivers that
permit Iran and Russia to engage in joint nuclear work to lapse but won't
commit to enforcing those sanctions, sowing confusion about U.S. policy at a
time when both countries are building out Tehran's atomic infrastructure.

The waivers, which were last renewed in August 2023, expired at the beginning
of 2024. They provided upwards of $10 billion in profit for Russian-state
controlled firms, such as the Rosatom energy company, for work at Iran's
various nuclear plants, including contested military sites suspected of
housing the country's atomic weapons program.

Yet the Biden administration will not commit to enforcing those sanctions now
that the waivers have expired. A State Department spokesman would not say why
the waivers were allowed to expire and told the Washington Free Beacon that
officials are still "reviewing the waiver as part of the regular review
process" and that a public comment will only be given "once a decision is
made as part of that review." The response is fueling questions on Capitol
Hill as Iran advances plans to invest at least $50 billion in its Russian-
made nuclear plants.

Congressional Republicans have been pressing the Biden State Department for
years to nix the waivers and enforce sanctions blocking that cooperation. The
Biden administration repeatedly renewed the waivers before allowing them to
expire earlier this year. Republicans suspect the lapse in a renewal notice
is a sign that the United States is turning a blind eye to Russia-Iran
nuclear cooperation and not enforcing sanctions. Questions surrounding the
sanctions waivers have been mounting on Capitol Hill in recent weeks, sources
told the Free Beacon, with some lawmakers demanding an immediate briefing
from the State Department.

Sen. Ted Cruz (R., Texas), who spearheaded legislation last year to bar the
Biden administration from renewing the sanctions waivers, said confusion
around the issue indicates the administration is ignoring the highly
profitable Russian-Iranian alliance.

"I pushed the Trump administration for years to end these waivers, which they
did. Joe Biden and Biden officials renewed them as part of their appeasement
of Iran, allowing Russia to build up Iran's nuclear program and for [Russian
president Vladimir] Putin and the Ayatollah to solidify a nuclear alliance,"
Cruz told the Free Beacon. "Now that catastrophic, irreversible damage has
been done, the administration is just ignoring the whole issue and hoping it
goes away. Their choice now is to renew the waivers, and allow Russian-
Iranian cooperation to continue[,] or keep them expired, and then people will
ask about their years of appeasement."

Amid confusion on the U.S. side, Russia and Iran have built out Tehran's
nuclear infrastructure. Earlier this month, Iran announced plans to expand
its Russian-made nuclear plant known as Bushehr, as well as a $50 billion
investment in other facilities. Iranian officials said construction will pick
up pace in May, raising further questions about whether the Biden
administration intends to renew the waivers, sanction this activity, or allow
the activity to occur even without the waivers in place.

Andrea Stricker, the deputy director of Foundation for Defense of Democracies
think tank's Nonproliferation and Biodefense Program, said that without
action by the United States, Russia stands to make billions from its nuclear
work with Iran, providing it with the cash needed to continue waging its war
on Ukraine.

"Russia is likely helping Iran build new reactor units at Bushehr and perhaps
elsewhere. The Biden administration must sanction the entity responsible:
Russia's state-run Rosatom Corporation," Stricker said. "For far too long,
the administration has sidestepped targeting this key Kremlin revenue stream.
The administration said more than a year ago that Russia building new
reactors would be sanctionable activity. They must follow through."

Since the Iran-backed Hamas terror group launched its war on Israel last
October, Tehran has been enriching uranium to levels approaching weapons-
grade fuel, drawing warnings from international watchdog groups.

The Obama administration issued waivers permitting Iran and Russia, as well
as China and European countries, to build out parts of Tehran's nuclear
program as part of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal. The Trump administration
scrapped the waivers in 2019 and 2020 after withdrawing from the deal. But
President Joe Biden restored the waivers as part of his own diplomacy
surrounding a revamped version of the deal.

The waivers were renewed in the aftermath of Russia's 2022 invasion of
Ukraine, which saw Iran and Russia become military partners. Eventually, the
Biden administration scaled back some of the waivers, with the administration
telling Congress in a notification last year that a more narrow allowance
would lessen "cooperation between Iran and Russia at a time that Iran is
providing lethal aid to Russia for use in its illegal invasion of Ukraine."

In February of this year, Iran broke ground on four new nuclear power plants.
While the country did not say who will assist with these projects, Stricker
and other experts suspect that Russia or China could play a role.

In December 2023, Iran also began work on a new nuclear reactor in the city
of Darkhovin, a move that the International Atomic Energy Agency said
violates Tehran's obligations under the nuclear safeguard pact.

A report last year also said that Tehran and Moscow reached an agreement that
would see Russia return enriched uranium to the Islamic Republic.

A senior GOP congressional aide who works on the matter but was not
authorized to speak on record said the administration "can't be open about
their position on Iran's nuclear program because it contradicts their public
positions."

"There is some movement, and I don't wanna, I don't wanna ..., Let me choose
my words -- there's some movement, there's been ... a response from the,
uh..., There's been a response ... from ... the opposition, but, um -- Yes,
I'm sorry, from Hamas"

-- Joe Biden

Ubiquitous <weberm@polaris.net> wrote in
news:20240417-131855.390.0@news.giganews.com:

>
> The Biden administration has allowed a series of sanctions waivers
> that permit Iran and Russia to engage in joint nuclear work to lapse
> but won't commit to enforcing those sanctions, sowing confusion about
> U.S. policy at a time when both countries are building out Tehran's
> atomic infrastructure.
>
> The waivers, which were last renewed in August 2023, expired at the
> beginning of 2024. They provided upwards of $10 billion in profit for
> Russian-state controlled firms, such as the Rosatom energy company,
> for work at Iran's various nuclear plants, including contested
> military sites suspected of housing the country's atomic weapons
> program.
>
> Yet the Biden administration will not commit to enforcing those
> sanctions now that the waivers have expired.

Since when do conervatives care about sanctions?

House rebukes Trump for easing Russia sanctions
01/17/2019

https://www.politico.com/story/2019/01/17/house-rebukes-trump-russia-
sanctions-1108939

Trump Reverses Course, Lifts Some Sanctions
Against Chinese Telecom Firm Huawei
JULY 1, 2019

https://www.npr.org/2019/07/01/737761412/trump-reverses-course-lifts-
some-sanctions-against-chinese-telecom-firm-huawei

Trump�s reversal of North Korea sanctions
March 22, 2019

https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/new-atlanticist/trump-s-reversal-
of-north-korea-sanctions-sends-a-dangerous-signal/

On Tue, 16 Apr 2024 21:05:01 -0400, Ubiquitous <weberm@polaris.net>
wrote:

>
>The Biden administration has allowed a series of sanctions waivers that
>permit Iran and Russia to engage in joint nuclear work to lapse but won't
>commit to enforcing those sanctions, sowing confusion about U.S. policy at a
>time when both countries are building out Tehran's atomic infrastructure.
>
>The waivers, which were last renewed in August 2023, expired at the beginning
>of 2024. They provided upwards of $10 billion in profit for Russian-state
>controlled firms, such as the Rosatom energy company, for work at Iran's
>various nuclear plants, including contested military sites suspected of
>housing the country's atomic weapons program.
>

But I thought libs wanted to stop Russia and support Ukraine over
Russia. Typical liberal say one thing and do another.