Dispute Between Foreign Minister and Supreme Leader’s Representative Over Sanctions Against IRGC

Amirabdollahian, responding to criticisms by the Supreme Leader’s representative at Kayhan Institute regarding his remarks about the IRGC, called his interpretation “incorrect.” The Foreign Minister quoted senior IRGC commanders as saying the “IRGC issue” should not prevent reaching an agreement in Vienna.

The Foreign Minister of the Islamic Republic on Sunday, the 7th of Farvardin (March 27), in an Instagram message called the interpretation by the Supreme Leader’s representative at Kayhan Institute of his remarks in a television interview about the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps “inconceivable and far-fetched.”

Hossein Amirabdollahian said on Saturday about the removal of the IRGC from the list of terrorist organizations and the lifting of sanctions against this institution and its affiliates, which is described as one of the final knots in the nuclear deal negotiations, that senior IRGC commanders are ready for “self-sacrifice.”

In an interview with the news network, he quoted high-ranking IRGC commanders as saying: “They say you should do whatever is necessary in accordance with the country’s interests, and if you reach a point where the IRGC issue was raised, the IRGC issue should not be an obstacle for you.”

The head of the diplomatic apparatus of the Ebrahim Raisi government added that in his view, senior IRGC officials are actually “demonstrating a kind of self-sacrifice and taking their sacrifice to the highest level,” saying that if you truly see that the country’s interests will be achieved through this agreement, “then the issue of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps should not be among your priorities at all.”

Dispute Over “Surrender” or “Sacrifice”

Hossein Shariatmadari in an interview with FARS News Agency accused Amirabdollahian of making a mistake and incorrectly calling “surrender” as “sacrifice” and “worse yet, attributing this surrender to IRGC commanders.”

The Supreme Leader’s representative at Kayhan Institute says the Foreign Minister’s statements could suggest that he “does not have sufficient and necessary understanding of current issues in his area of responsibility.”

Amirabdollahian, responding to these criticisms in an Instagram note, wrote: “What was said is the approach of senior commanders who have never for a moment allowed the protection and safeguarding of the nation’s interests to lag behind in pursuit of a good, strong, and lasting agreement.”

In his television interview, he had also said that despite the “self-sacrifice” of senior IRGC commanders, one of the central issues remaining in the messages exchanged with America is “the status of the IRGC, the role of the IRGC, and the legal standing of the IRGC,” which remains among the red lines of the Islamic Republic for reaching a final agreement.

The Foreign Minister of the thirteenth government called on Shariatmadari to re-read Saturday’s interview and, without naming him, wrote: “The inconceivable and far-fetched interpretation that some respected persons have made from yesterday’s remarks is incorrect, and the issue is not at all about crossing or compromising on red lines.”

In recent days, much discussion has been raised about “one or two issues” remaining in the nuclear deal revival negotiations, the most important of which is Iran’s request for the removal of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps from the U.S. list of foreign terrorist organizations.

Meanwhile, it appears that in the extensive discussions that have been raised, several issues are being conflated or have not been given sufficient attention.

Sanctions Unrelated to Nuclear Agreement

The most important issue is that the matter of sanctions against the IRGC and institutions such as the Office of the Supreme Leader do not have a direct and significant connection with the nuclear agreement and the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), and this dispute extends beyond the Vienna negotiations between Iran and America.

Enrique Mora, Deputy High Representative for Foreign Policy of the European Union and Coordinator of the Joint Commission of the JCPOA, recently said that expert-level negotiations on reviving the JCPOA ended on Esfand 24.

Hossein Amirabdollahian also said in a television interview on Saturday that representatives of the Islamic Republic and three European countries party to the nuclear agreement reached an agreement on a text in Vienna negotiations, and “if the Americans have a realistic approach, agreement is achievable.”

Senior U.S. government officials have also previously stated they are willing to review the removal of the IRGC from the terrorist organization list and are prepared to make “tough decisions” on this matter.

Meanwhile, Robert Malley, the U.S. Special Representative for Iran and head of American negotiators, said on Sunday in Doha that even if an agreement is reached to revive the JCPOA, sanctions against the IRGC will not be lifted.

IRGC Sanctions and the Necessity of Beyond-JCPOA Negotiations

Amirabdollahian claims that a potential agreement on reviving the nuclear agreement will not go beyond the JCPOA, while also stating that the removal of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps from U.S. sanctions lists “remains one of the serious and principal issues.”

The most important sanctions against the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps were imposed following executive orders issued in 2007, 2010, 2011, and 2012.

All of these sanctions were imposed before the nuclear agreement and were not revoked or suspended following the signing of the nuclear agreement. On this basis, if the Islamic Republic truly wishes to lift these sanctions, it must enter into beyond-JCPOA negotiations with the United States.

In the nuclear agreement between Iran and six world powers (the United States, Russia, China, Britain, France, and Germany), UN Security Council sanctions resolutions against the Islamic Republic were suspended, which had previously been approved by the affirmative vote of the five permanent members of this council.

Source: DW