Because Iran refused to talk directly to the United States, Russia became a key negotiator for Team Biden in its bid to revive the Iran nuclear deal, or Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
In spite of all the vitriol tossed at and sanctions imposed on Vladimir Putin over his invasion of Ukraine, the Biden administration has relied heavily on Russia to seal the deal during negotiations in Vienna.
And now Russia stands to reap what Team Biden has sowed.
Several of Russia's top state-controlled nuclear companies stand to gain billions of dollars in revenue as part the nuclear deal which will see sanctions on these firms lifted so that they can build up Teheran's nuclear infrastructure, according to a U.S. government-authored document reviewed by the Washington Free Beacon.
The Biden administration has guaranteed Russia that it will not face sanctions for its work on Iranian nuclear sites.
Russia's state-controlled Rosatom energy firm and at least four of its major subsidiaries will receive sanctions waivers so that they can complete nuclear projects in Iran worth more than $10 billion.
Related: First things first: Putin is actually mediating Iran talks on behalf of Team Biden, March 15, 2022
The waivers had been rescinded by the Trump administration in 2020 as part of its "maximum pressure" campaign on Iran.
Richard Goldberg, a Foundation for Defense of Democracies adviser who served on former President Donald Trump's White House National Security Council as the director for countering Iranian weapons of mass destruction, told the Free Beacon that there is no way to fully pressure Russia without taking on its state-owned firms. "You can't claim to have a pressure policy against Moscow and simultaneously lift sanctions to pump Putin's state-owned enterprises with billions."
About . . . . Intelligence . . . . Membership
