The United States has said it will consider rejecting Trump’s listing of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards as a terrorist group
The United States is reportedly considering delisting Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organization as it moves closer to reviving the nuclear deal with Tehran.
Axios said that in return, Tehran would commit to de-escalation in the region.
The IRGC, a radical militia closely linked to Iran’s supreme leader, was designated a Foreign Terrorist Organization by former President Donald Trump’s administration after it withdrew from the 2015 nuclear deal officially known as the Joint Global Action Plan.
But the move is seen as a key last demand from Iran before it agrees to return to compliance with the JCPOA. He would also be wildly unpopular among Republicans as well as hawkish Democrats in Congress.
As part of such a move, the Biden administration plans to include an announcement that it reserves the right to reappoint the IRGC if it fails to meet its pledge, Axios reported.
Israeli officials told the website that Washington had informed Jerusalem about the issue, but no decision had been made.
Governor of Iran to the International Atomic Energy Agency Kazem Gharib Abadi, Political Assistant to the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Abbas Araghchi, and Deputy Secretary General and Political Director of the European External Action Service Enrique Mora stand outside the ‘Grand Hotel Vienna’ where closed-door nuclear talks are taking place in Vienna, Austria, June 2, 2021. (AP Photo/Lisa Leutner)
Israel would be opposed to the idea, particularly because the IRGC’s pledge to reign in its activities should not include explicit reference to actions against US allies in the region, such as Israel.
According to Axios, former US Vice President Mike Pence briefed Israeli officials on the potential move during a visit earlier this month. He said the IRGC would only pledge not to harm Americans. But the White House told Israel the latter notion was briefly considered and dismissed.
The State Department told Axios that no decision has been made on the IRGC designation and that “any speculation to the contrary is simply misinformed.”
Additionally, the official said the IRGC would remain on a separate terrorism list and be subject to numerous other sanctions.
Another official told the site that the Trump administration’s maximum pressure sanctions, which included the IRGC’s listing, were “a clear failure” because they only led Iran to step up its nuclear activity. and its harmful actions in the region.
Rumors of a possible delisting from the IRGC also made headlines last month.
Foreign Secretary Yair Lapid also spoke out against the idea, saying: “Any sane person should take this to the administration and say, ‘That’s just wrong, don’t do that’.”
“They are now asking to let the biggest terrorist organization in the world off the hook,” Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said of the Iranians at the time.
