JCPOA Deadlock; Disagreement Over Designation of IRGC as Terrorist

As nearly 27 pages of text from the negotiations to revive the JCPOA were prepared, disagreement over whether or not the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) should be designated as a terrorist organization has brought the negotiations to an impasse.

The United States added the IRGC to its list of foreign terrorist organizations in 2019 as part of its maximum pressure campaign against the Islamic Republic.

Politico reported in an article published Thursday: “The seemingly intractable puzzle surrounding the IRGC’s terrorist designation is that this matter is technically outside the scope of sanctions related to the nuclear agreement.”

The United States, which has imposed numerous other sanctions against Iran, avoids discussing issues beyond the original framework of the agreement; however, Tehran insists that all issues must be resolved together.

Politico quotes an informed U.S. official as saying: “The U.S. position has always been that the United States will not remove the IRGC from the list of foreign terrorist organizations unless Iran takes effective steps to address security concerns beyond the JCPOA.”

The informed official also stated: “This position does not change, especially given the IRGC’s continued threats in the region against Americans. The Biden administration also faces political resistance from both Democratic and Republican parties within the United States to keep the IRGC on the terrorist list.”

According to this official, due to all these factors, “the Biden administration is very unlikely at this stage to set aside the designation within the framework of JCPOA negotiations.”

Revival of Iran’s nuclear agreement, which just a few months ago was considered imminent, has now become a distant prospect.

The JCPOA revival talks also recently ended in a haze of uncertainty due to Russia’s request that it receive sanctions exemptions for any future trade with Iran.

It should be noted that U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated on Tuesday during a session with members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee: “The Biden administration will not accede to Tehran’s request to remove the IRGC from the list of terrorist organizations.”

Source: Voice of America