The Obama administration is set to buy 32 tons of material used to develop nuclear weapons from Iran, in an apparent effort to shore up the nuclear deal implemented earlier this year.
An Energy Department spokesman confirmed Friday that the U.S. will purchase the material — known as heavy water — and hopes to resell it within the U.S.
“The United States will not be Iran’s customer forever,” the official said in a statement. “It is exclusively Iran’s responsibility to find a way to meet its [nuclear agreement] commitments, whether that is by selling, diluting or disposing of future stocks of heavy water to remain within the [agreement] limit.”
The deal is valued at roughly $8.6 million.
The Wall Street Journal, which first reported the news, said the sale was driven by fears in Washington that Iran could not meet a July deadline to reduce the stockpile of heavy water called for under the agreement, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.
The announcement of the sale Friday was met with swift condemnation from Republicans in Congress, who have long opposed the agreement.
Read More- The Hill
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