The White House has ordered a halt to the implementation of new sanctions against Iran, the paper reported The Wall Street Journal citing its sources.
According to the paper, last week the White House press secretary sent Karoline Leavitt a directive to the State Department, the Treasury Department and the National Security Council requesting "suspend all new sanctions activity against Iran". As a result, US President Donald Trump's campaign to put 'maximum pressure' on Iran has effectively come to a halt.
Deputy Press Secretary Anna Kelly did not directly refute this information in her comments to the newspaper, but said that "any new decisions regarding sanctions will be announced by the White House or relevant agencies within the administration". Washington last imposed sanctions on Tehran on May 21, and since then the Treasury Department has postponed announcing new sanctions at least twice, according to the newspaper.
Major restrictions on oil sales and the freezing of Iranian assets are likely to remain in place. However, some Trump administration officials are concerned about the lack of clarity on the duration and scope of the pause. Some officials believe the purpose of the move is to carefully analyze future restrictions in light of negotiations over Iran's nuclear program, The Wall Street Journal reported.
On 30 May, US President Donald Trump said that Washington and Tehran could reach an agreement on Iran's nuclear programme in the near future. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi noted that the countries are still far from reaching an agreement.
On 23 May, the fifth round of talks between Iranian and US representatives on Tehran's nuclear programme took place in Rome. The Omani foreign minister, who is the mediator between the two sides, announced that a "some, but not definitive, progress". After the consultations, his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi said Tehran and Washington were preparing for a new round of talks and hoped to achieve positive results in one or two meetings.
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