14 American Senators: Removing IRGC from Terrorist List is Betrayal of Allies

Fourteen American lawmakers sent a letter to Joe Biden, describing the removal of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) from the country’s terrorist organizations list as a “betrayal of allies and partners,” while recalling the IRGC’s activities in Lebanon, Syria, and Yemen.

Fourteen American lawmakers warned in a letter sent to the country’s president about removing the IRGC from the terrorist organizations list.

They called such a decision “deeply wrong” and “betrayal of America’s partners and allies.”

Removing the IRGC from the US terrorist organizations list is one of Iran’s key demands for reviving the nuclear agreement with the country (JCPOA).

The letter was sent as reports suggest the Biden administration is reviewing the removal of the IRGC from this list.

The letter’s authors warned that removing the name of an institution that “continues terrorist acts” would show the world that such designations are “a political tool” in the hands of the US government to change whenever it serves its “political or commercial interests.”

In the letter, reference was made to the IRGC’s activities in Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, and Bahrain, and senators held the IRGC responsible for the deaths of hundreds of American forces in Iraq. John Kennedy, Ted Cruz, and Lindsey Graham are among the signatories.

Last week, Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the US Armed Forces, called the IRGC’s extraterritorial Quds Force terrorist during a question-and-answer session in the US Senate and opposed removing it from the terrorist organizations list.

Following that, Jalina Porter, spokeswoman for the US State Department, announced that Joe Biden, like Mark Milley, believes “the Quds Force of the IRGC is terrorist.”

Biden’s effort to revive the 2015 nuclear agreement with Iran, aimed at limiting the country’s nuclear activities in such a way that nuclear bomb production would not be possible, has raised concerns of both rival parties in America (Democrats and Republicans).

Under Donald Trump’s presidency in 2018, the US withdrew from the agreement, and Iran also gradually reduced its JCPOA commitments. With the Biden administration in office, the US launched talks to revive the agreement once again.

Anthony Blinken, US Secretary of State, warned last week in an interview with NBC News that “time is running out fast.” He stated that despite all efforts made so far and while believing that reviving the JCPOA would improve US security conditions, these negotiations have not yet reached a conclusion.

Blinken also emphasized that he is not optimistic about the conclusion of the negotiations.

Source: DW