The United States will not provide waivers to allow France to give Iran a $15 billion relief package.
“We did sanctions today. There will be more sanctions coming,” U.S. special representative for Iran Brian Hook told reporters on Wednesday. “We can’t make it any more clear that we are committed to this campaign of maximum pressure, and we are not looking to grant any exceptions or waivers.”
The French reportedly have proposed the relief to the Iranians in exchange for the regime adhering to the stipulations of the 2015 nuclear deal.
An Iranian delegation was in Paris on Monday to finalize the details of the financial lifeline, which the French government has declined to share the details of, that would assist Iran amid crushing U.S. sanctions, reported The New York Times, citing Iranian press reports and a senior U.S. official.
Meanwhile, French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire met with U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and other U.S. officials on Tuesday to discuss the proposal.
French President Emmanuel Macron called on U.S. President Donald Trump last week at the Group of Seven, or G7, meetings in Biarritz, France, to return to the negotiating table with the Iranians since withdrawing the United States from the nuclear accord in May 2018, reimposing sanctions lifted under it along with enacting new financial penalties against the regime.
