Global Geopolitical Series: Rumors say Trump to sign Iran sanctions waiver

Rumors from the White House suggest that President Trump will sign the waiver on Iran sanctions before the deadline is reached by the mid of the month. In 2015, Iran signed the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), better known as Iran nuclear agreement with the United States and other five world powers; Russia, China, Germany, France and the United Kingdom. The deal required the U.S. President to certify Iran’s compliance with the agreement, however, Trump, who has been very critical of the agreement and often called it as the worst deal ever made, refused to recertify Iran’s compliance with the agreement in October.

Now, he needs to decide by mid-January whether to prolong the waivers on American sanctions against Iran’s oil exports under the nuclear deal or not.  And if he fails to sign the waivers, which needed to be extended every 120 days, the restrictions on Iran will be automatically re-imposed.

Iran has threatened to cancel the agreement if the sanctions on oil are re-imposed. It has also threatened earlier this week to speed up the Uranium enrichment process if the deal gets canceled due to Trump’s refusal to sign the waiver.

According to rumors, President’s senior aides have urged to sign the waiver to buy more time so the administration can decide on the next move on Iran.

U.S. news agency Bloomberg is also reporting that Trump would sign the waiver.