The administration of US President Joe Biden is reportedly reviewing a 2018 sanctions waiver, which allowed Afghanistan to purchase Iranian gasoline and gasoil. 

An unnamed State Department spokesperson told London-based Middle East Eye online news outlet that the waiver put in place by the Trump administration “remains under active review” after the overthrow of the Afghan government last month.

An amendment to repeal a part of the waiver reached the House Foreign Relations Committee last month but was blocked by the committee chairman Gregory Meeks, the report said.

According to Alex Zerden, who led the Treasury Department's office at the US embassy in Kabul from 2018 to 2019, the sanctions waiver on Iranian fuel exports to Afghanistan was intended at the time to protect Kabul even as Washington was pushing ahead its “maximum pressure campaign” against Tehran.

“There were real concerns about Iran sanctions harming Afghanistan's economy and a waiver to import Iranian fuel was seen as crucial,” Zerden noted.

 

Source: Press TV