The U.S. President Donald Trump approved the Iran nuclear agreement by extending sanctions relief on Iran for one last time, the White House announced Friday with a statement.
The waiver Trump signed will extend the sanctions relief on Iran for 120 more days, in order to give the U.K., France, Germany, and the European Union enough time to overhaul the nuclear deal.
The U.S. will pull out of the historic Iran nuclear agreement signed on July 2015, which is seen as a legacy of Trump's predecessor Barack Obama, if the U.S.' European allies would fail agreeing to 'fix the flaws' of the Iran nuclear deal.
'This is a last chance. In the absence of such an agreement, the U.S. will not again waive sanctions in order to stay in the Iran nuclear deal. And if at any time I judge that such an agreement is not within reach, I will withdraw from the deal immediately,' Trump said in the statement.
While Trump dubbed the nuclear agreement as 'the worst deal ever' during his presidential campaign in 2016, he now wants the U.S.' allies to make permanent restrictions on Iran's uranium enrichment program and to take action against Iran's ballistic missile program.
Iran claims its uranium program is peaceful and its missile program does not include any nuclear warheads, while the European powers see the nuclear deal key for international security.
'It [nuclear deal] gave Iran far too much in exchange for far too little,' said Trump in the statement.
Restrictions on Iran's uranium program will expire in 2025 and it will be strictly monitored until then. In exchange, Iran received sanctions relief that is vital to its energy industry and financial sector.
The Trump administration also included 14 Iranian entities and individuals to the sanctions list, according to the U.S. Treasury Department earlier.
'The U.S. will not stand by while the Iranian regime continues to engage in human rights abuses and injustice,' Treasury Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin said in a statement.
'We are also targeting Iran's ballistic missile program and destabilizing activities, which it continues to prioritize over the economic well-being of the Iranian people,' he added.
The list of individuals include head of Iran's judiciary Sadegh Amoli Larijani.
By Ovunc Kutlu in New YorkAnadolu Agency
ovunc.kutlu@aa.com.tr