The Biden administration plans to reject an Iranian demand that the United States lift its designation of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organization as a condition for renewing the 2015 nuclear agreement, Washington Post columnist David Ignatius reported.
A senior administration official told Ignatius that President Joe Biden doesn’t intend to concede on the terrorist designation, even though this may be a dealbreaker.
“The onus is on Iran as to whether we have a nuclear deal. The president will stick to core principles. The Iranians know our views,” the official said.
Last month it was reported that the Biden administration is considering removing terrorism sanctions from the IRGC as part of negotiations to restore the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.
The US would monitor Iran's compliance with its agreement to de-escalate and would retain the option to restore the designation if Iran is not found to be in compliance, the report said.
Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and Foreign Minister Yair Lapid later said they “refuse to believe” that the US would take such a step.
"The Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) is a terrorist organization that has murdered thousands of people, including Americans. We refuse to believe that the United States would remove its designation as a terrorist organization."
On Thursday, the Pentagon's top general said he was opposed to removing the elite Quds Force of Iran's Revolutionary Guards from the US terror group list.
"In my personal opinion, I believe the IRGC Quds Force to be a terrorist organization, and I do not support them being delisted from the foreign terrorist organization list," Joint Chiefs Chairman General Mark Milley told a congressional hearing.