An employee points at screens in the control room of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization at its headquarters in Vienna, Austria, Sept. 28, 2017. REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger
Al-Monitor: State Department OKs nuclear monitoring system for Iran
The Donald Trump administration is allowing high-tech US exports to Iran that could boost international oversight of the 2015 nuclear deal.
US Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan signed a waiver that allows a Maryland-based company to export broadband networks, satellite dishes and wireless equipment to Iran for stations that monitor nuclear explosions in real time. Under laws that came into force after the Iran-Iraq War, the United States restricts "dual-use" exports that could benefit Iran’s nuclear weapons program.
The State Department notified Congress of the move Jan. 5, according to correspondence viewed by Al-Monitor. It is not the first time the United States has allowed exports of digital technology to Iran: In 2010, the State Department also granted a waiver to allow US companies to export chat, email and social networking software to Iran, an effort to strengthen free speech rights.
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WNU Editor: The monitoring equipment was requested by the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO), which oversees a global ban on nuclear test explosions. The U.S. could not say no to this request, and the Iranians could not say no because it would be a clear sign that they may circumvent their commitment to not develop nuclear weapons.
