U.S. State Department Refrains from Commenting on Report of Disagreement with Tehran Over Qasem Soleimani File

The U.S. State Department has refrained from commenting on reports of disagreement with Tehran over the Qasem Soleimani file, the former commander of the Quds Force of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Radio Farda reported on Wednesday, March 30, citing a source informed about the JCPOA revival negotiations in Vienna, that one of America’s main conditions for removing the IRGC from the terrorist list is a commitment by the Islamic Republic government to cease operational pursuit of the Qasem Soleimani case, and this issue has become the latest obstacle in nuclear negotiations.

In this regard, Radio Farda asked for clarification from the U.S. State Department, but one of the department’s spokespersons, while remaining silent on the matter, emphasized that Washington’s negotiations with Tehran are not public.

The Islamic Republic emphasizes retaliation against those U.S. officials alleged to have played a role in Qasem Soleimani’s killing.

In this context, the Associated Press reported in late February based on some documents that the U.S. government spends $2 million per month for 24-hour protection of Mike Pompeo, the former secretary of state, and Brian Hook, the former U.S. special envoy for Iran affairs. These two led the campaign for former President Donald Trump’s “maximum pressure” policy against the Islamic Republic, and Iranian officials have repeatedly named them as “perpetrators” of Qasem Soleimani’s killing.

Wednesday’s Radio Farda report also stated that U.S. security agencies have precise information about Tehran’s planning for action against some former U.S. government officials, and therefore Washington, in response to Tehran’s request for removing the IRGC from the terrorist organizations list, raised the condition that the Islamic Republic cease its plans for retaliation for Qasem Soleimani’s killing.

However, one of the U.S. State Department spokespersons told Radio Farda: “We do not negotiate in public view and will not respond to specific claims about which sections of sanctions we are prepared to lift in line with mutual return to the JCPOA.”

Based on statements from officials involved in nuclear negotiations between Iran and world powers, these negotiations have approached their final stages, but in the meantime, some remaining issues have left the outcome uncertain.

According to Josep Borrell, the European Union’s foreign policy chief, Iran has demanded “guarantees regarding the IRGC,” and this has complicated the JCPOA revival negotiations.

American media outlets in recent days have reported in multiple reports that failure to reach a compromise with the Islamic Republic over the IRGC could cause the Vienna negotiations to collapse.

The Donald Trump administration in 2019 placed the IRGC on the terrorist organizations list on charges of “financing and promoting terrorism.” The Joe Biden administration, however, says the current situation “has not made America safer” and that instead the IRGC “has been strengthened” during this period.

Ned Price, spokesperson for the U.S. State Department, also repeated this analysis on Wednesday, saying that since Washington’s withdrawal from the JCPOA, the IRGC’s designation as a terrorist organization, Qasem Soleimani’s killing, Iran’s nuclear program, and attacks on American facilities and Washington’s partners in the region have increased significantly.

Ned Price: The Proper Solution is Return to the JCPOA

According to Lara Rozen, freelance reporter, Mr. Price stated in a press conference: “From 2017 to 2018, there were no significant attacks on American forces and U.S. diplomatic facilities in Iraq.”

He added: “These conditions changed from 2018 onwards. So from 2019 to 2020, attacks by Iran-backed groups increased by 400 percent. These occurred after the withdrawal from the JCPOA, the designation of the IRGC on the terrorist list, and Soleimani’s killing.”

Mr. Price continued: “Efforts to contain Iran’s proxy groups with the strategy we inherited have not worked. We want to have a strategy that works. And we still believe that a return to the JCPOA is a proper solution.”

Nevertheless, the U.S. State Department spokesperson in his Wednesday press conference acknowledged that to achieve an agreement on JCPOA revival “there are still several important issues remaining,” although he did not name these issues.

Source: Radio Farda