U.S. imposes more Iran-related sanctions amid talks on new nuclear deal

Yahoo

13-05-2025

May 12 (UPI) -- The United States on Monday sanctioned three Iranians and a related technology firm on accusations of advancing Tehran's nuclear weapons research, as the Trump administration continues to seek a new deal with the Middle Eastern country that would bar it from acquiring a nuclear weapon.
The State Department announced the sanctions targeting those affiliated with the Organization of Defensive Innovation and Research, which was originally blacklisted during the administration of President Barack Obama in 2014.
Known by the initials SPND, the Tehran-based entity, founded in February 2011, is responsible for nuclear weapons development research.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Monday said it was the direct successor to Iran's pre-2004 nuclear weapons program.
"All individuals sanctioned are involved in activities that materially contribute to, or pose a risk of materially contributing to, the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction," the United States' top diplomat said in a statement.
The punitive measures imposed are secondary sanctions, according to the Treasury, which are sanctions that target those who deal with a sanctioned person or entity.
Sayyed Mohammad Reza Seddighi Saber, 50, was sanctioned for being the head of SPND's Shahid Karimi Group, which works on explosives-related projects.
Ahmad Haghighat Talab was sanctioned for being a SPND senior official and nuclear scientist who worked on the Amad Project, Iran's pre-2004 weapons program. U.S. officials accuse him of continuing to use his expertise to advance Iran's nuclear weapons program.
And Mohammed Reza Mehdipur, a longtime-SPND-affiliated official, was sanctioned for being the appointed head of SPND's Shahid Charan group, which has conducted nuclear-related research for Iran.
The firm blacklisted Monday was Fuya Pars Prospective Technologists, an SPND-affiliated company that the State Department said has attempted to procure equipment that could be used in nuclear weapons research and development.
"The United States' actions are intended to delay and degrade the ability of SPND to conduct nuclear weapons research and development," Rubio said.
The administration of President Donald Trump has repeatedly imposed sanctions against Iran since early February, when he signed an executive order to resume his policy of applying maximum pressure of sanctions and economic pressure against Iran -- a strategy from his first term that failed to coerce the Islamic regime into returning to the negotiating table on a new nuclear weapons deal.
During his first term in the White House, Trump imposed sanctions against Iran and unilaterally withdrew the United States from a landmark Obama-era multinational nuclear accord that aimed to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon.
Calling it "defective at its core," Trump had pursued his maximum campaign to bring Iran back into negotiations on a new deal. But instead, Iran moved away from its obligations under the accord and advanced its nuclear weapons program.
According to a Congressional Research Service report, the U.S. government estimates that Iran could need as little as a week to produce enough weapons-grade uranium for a single nuclear weapon.
Rubio on Monday said: "Iran continues to substantially expand its nuclear program."
However, talks on a potential new nuclear deal between the two countries are ongoing, with the fourth and most recent round having occurred in Oman last weekend.
Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi of Iran told reporters on Sunday that both sides now have a "better understanding" of one another, but that the removal of sanctions and Tehran's ability to continue enriching uranium are two sticking points. He emphasized that the enrichment of uranium "must definitely continue."
"There is absolutely no room for compromise there," he said, according to state-owned Press TV.
Ahead of the talks, Steve Witkoff, U.S. special envoy to the Middle East and lead negotiator with Iran, told outlet Breitbart News that the U.S. will not allow an enrichment program to exist again in Iran.
He said Iran will have to dismantle its three enrichment facilities.
"That's our red line," he said. "No enrichment."