US Considers Lifting Sanctions on Iran's Khamenei as Part of JCPOA Talks - Reports

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The United States is considering lifting sanctions on Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei as part of the talks on renewing the Joint Commission of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), NBC News reported on Saturday, citing sources.

The sanctions against Khamenei, as well as some of his officials and military commanders, were imposed in June 2019 by the former US president, Donald Trump. The Biden administration has signaled it is willing to negotiate and revive the nuclear agreement.

According to the sources, negotiators from the US and Iran discussed the initiative during the talks in Vienna. It is expected to be a part of a larger compromise that would result in Washington rejoining the JCPOA and Tehran fulfilling its JCPOA commitments.

Earlier, the Iranian president's chief of staff said that Tehran and other parties to the Iran deal agreed during negotiations in Vienna that over 1,000 US sanctions, imposed on Iran during the Trump administration, will be lifted. The US abandoned its conciliatory stance on Iran in 2018, when Trump unilaterally withdrew the United States from the JCPOA and slapped the Islamic Republic with harsh sanctions under the so-called "maximum pressure" campaign.

President Donald Trump signs an executive order to increase sanctions on Iran, in the Oval Office of the White House, Monday, June 24, 2019, in Washington.

© AP Photo / Alex Brandon

The original deal required Iran to scale back its nuclear program and considerably downgrade its uranium reserves in exchange for sanctions relief. Following the US withdrawal, Tehran started to gradually abandon its commitments under the agreement.

Vienna has been hosting the sessions of the JCPOA joint commission as well as informal meetings in different formats aimed at restoring the Iran nuclear deal since April.