US Highly Unlikely To Remove IRGC Terror Designation– US Official
A US official says the stalemate in the Vienna talks over the terrorist designation of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard is so sensitive that a compromise seems impossible and unrealistic.
A US official says the stalemate in the Vienna talks over the terrorist designation of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard is so sensitive that a compromise seems impossible and unrealistic.
The official familiar with the issue told Politico on Thursday that Washington is unwilling to include the removal of the IRGC from the US list of terrorist organizations since it falls beyond the contours of the original 2015 nuclear deal -- formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA.
“The US position has been that unless Iran agrees to take certain steps to assuage security concerns beyond the JCPOA, Washington will not lift the terror designation, which itself is beyond the JCPOA,” the unnamed source said.
He added that “the Biden administration is highly unlikely at this point to drop the designation in the context of the JCPOA talks” especially now that the administration is facing bipartisan political resistance at home and “given ongoing threats by the IRGC against [Americans]”.
The agreement that seemed imminent only two months ago hit a few hurdles along the way. First the Islamic Republic demanded that all sanctions – including over its missile and drone programs as well as human rights– be removed, then Russia - an original signatory of the JCPOA — demanded sanctions protections for any future business with Iran following its invasion of Ukraine. However, dropping the terrorist label of the IRGC seems like the tallest hurdle that has run the talks aground.
On the sidelines of Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s testimony at the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Tuesday, Virginia’s Tim Kaine and Maryland’s Ben Cardin told Iran International that former president Donalds Trump’s move to abandon the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) made Iran move closer to nuclear breakout capacity.
In reaction to remarks by a former senior Iranian lawmaker who disclosed that Iran’s aim from the beginning was to produce nuclear weapons, they concurred that regular “intrusive inspections” and finding “an enforceable deal” is the way to keep Iran from getting a nuclear weapon.
Kaine said that the 2015 nuclear agreement, “provided a significant window of time before they could break out”, calling for returning to intrusive inspections to enable the world to know if Iran is going to violate its pledges under the JCPOA and “to make sure that they are honoring their commitments”.
“The Trump decision to terminate the JCPOA has now put Iran right back at the threshold of the breakout capacity, which anyone would have predicted”, he said.
Cardin said, “We never thought they were giving up their desire to be a nuclear-weapon state. But it was put in check, it was put on hold. We have lost that now”.
About Iran’s demand for removing the Revolutionary Guard (IRGC) from the US list of foreign terrorist organizations (FTO), Cardin said it is a proper concern to question whether there will be some relaxation on that.
On the sidelines of the session, Texas Republican senator Ted Cruz also told Iran International’s Arash Alaei that it is a positive step that Blinken acknowledged terrorist activities by the IRGC, but expressed disappointment that he “wasn't willing to answer straight out” if it is true that Iranians have refused to renounce any intention of killing former US officials.
“Three times I asked Secretary Blinken that question, three times he refused to answer the question. I think the reason is obvious, because the answer... is yes”, he said.
Cruz said it is “utterly indefensible” to delist the IRGC and give the Islamic Republic billions of dollars even when it is “actively trying to murder former US officials”. “The IRGC is a vicious terrorist organization”, he stated.
During the committee session earlier in the day, several Senators told Secretary Blinken to walk away from the Vienna negotiations to restore the nuclear deal with Iran.
