Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is canceling one of four sanctions waivers that had allowed foreign companies to work with Iran's civilian nuclear program without U.S. penalties.
The waivers are one of the last remaining components of the 2015 nuclear deal the Trump administration withdrew from last year.
Pompeo said Monday that the waiver for Iran’s once-secret Fordow site will be eliminated on Dec. 15. Iran has recently stepped up uranium enrichment at the facility that is built into a mountain.
Iran hawks have been pressing Pompeo to eliminate all the waivers but have most strenuously objected to the one for Fordow. The waivers for Fordow as well as the Bushehr nuclear power station, the Arak heavy water plant and the Tehran Research Reactor were last extended in late October.