A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
The United States has lifted oil sanctions on Iran.
MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
It’s a temporary measure that lets Iran sell its oil in U.S. dollars on the global market. The 60-day sanctions exemption is just one of several economic incentives coming Iran’s way.
MARTÍNEZ: In a few minutes, we’ll explore those incentives with one of the officials who worked on the last U.S. nuclear agreement with Iran. But first, we go to NPR’s international correspondent Aya Batrawy in Dubai to explain what all of this means. So OK, these oil sanction waivers were announced by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent yesterday. What does it mean for Iran?
AYA BATRAWY, BYLINE: Well, it basically means Iran can sell freely at standard prices, just like any other major Gulf oil producer. And this is a pretty stunning turnaround from what was just a weekslong U.S. naval blockade on Iran’s ports. A, for years, Iran had been evading U.S. sanctions through dark fleets. These are ships that would turn off their tracking systems and hide their origin. And then Iran would mostly sell this cargo to state-linked Chinese companies who were motivated to buy from Iran because the oil was sold at a discount outside of the international dollar banking system. But the idea here with these waivers is to incentivize Iran to comply with U.S. demands on its nuclear program during the duration of these talks.
MARTÍNEZ: So on that note, Vice President JD Vance, who’s leading the negotiations, says Iran has agreed to allow nuclear inspectors into the country. What can you tell us about that?
BATRAWY: So the current deal with the United States not only lifts oil sanctions on Iran through much of August, but also unlocks billions of Iran’s frozen dollars in overseas accounts in Qatar. And with Vance as the face of these negotiations, he’s been trying to sell this deal as one that’s primarily good for the United States, and he says Iran won’t see anything until its policies change. And I want you to have a listen to what he said in Switzerland yesterday after the first round of high-level talks with Iran.
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JD VANCE: The Iranians have agreed to invite IAEA inspectors back into their country. That is a major milestone for the American people and the first step in permanently denuclearizing or permanently ending a nuclear weapons program in Iran.
BATRAWY: OK. But for context here, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency that Vance is referring to was in the United Arab Emirates earlier this month. And I was there when Rafael Grossi said inspectors are already in Iran and had visited small labs in places that hadn’t been attacked. But Vance seems to be implying here that they would be able to inspect nuclear sites like Fordo, Isfahan and Natanz, which were damaged in U.S. airstrikes last year. The IAEA says those airstrikes obscured its ability to check on these sites. And the agency says that just days before that war last June, they had been able to verify Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium.
MARTÍNEZ: All right. So what’s Iran been saying?
BATRAWY: So Iran says there are no plans for inspections of damaged nuclear sites and that nothing of the sort was discussed in Switzerland. It says Iran’s interactions with the IAEA would continue as usual. And the foreign ministry pointed to a preliminary deal signed with the U.S. that says talks on a final agreement begin after oil sanctions and the U.S. naval blockade have been lifted, which we know has already happened, and after there’s a ceasefire in Lebanon between the Iran-backed Hezbollah and Israel, which has been largely holding since Sunday.
But crucially, it also says that talks on a final deal come after the U.S. makes, quote, “fully available” Iran’s frozen assets. Those are the billions that are in Qatar right now. And for its part, Iran has to reopen the Strait of Hormuz to commercial shipping and oil tankers. But maritime tracking firms say just a couple dozen ships are transiting a day, so we’re still far below those prewar levels.
MARTÍNEZ: That’s NPR’s international correspondent Aya Batrawy in Dubai. Thank you very much.
BATRAWY: Thanks, A. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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