Lawmakers Call for Ending Iran Nuclear Sanctions Waivers

House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, and three other House Republicans urged the State Department on April 17 to permanently stop waiving sanctions for certain types of nuclear cooperation with Iran.

While the lawmakers welcomed the Biden administration’s decision to not extend nuclear sanction waivers that lapsed in January, they said in a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken that the administration should close the door on future sanctions relief because waivers have failed to stop Iran’s aggressive pursuit of nuclear weapons.

"Continuing to issue these waivers clearly does not serve U.S. nonproliferation objectives or national security interests," the lawmakers wrote.

The State Department declined to comment.