Biden Keeping Iran's Revolutionary Guard On Terror Blacklist

MAY 26 2022·Updated FEB 6 2024

Story

Image credit: AFP [via Middle East Eye]

The Facts

On Tues., Biden reportedly made a final decision to keep Iran's Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) on the US Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) list, according to a senior US official.
Al Jazeera
Tehran's demand to lift the IRGC's FTO status was one of the last major sticking points in the revival of talks regarding the Iran nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
nytimes
Biden's decision comes weeks after the US Senate passed a non-binding resolution in Mar. prohibiting the government from revoking the IRGC's FTO designation.
Politico
Meanwhile, Israel's PM Naftali Bennet on Wed. welcomed Washington's decision, saying he was briefed on it in a telephone call with Biden on Apr. 24.
guardian
The same day, Biden's special envoy to Iran, Robert Malley, advocated for a diplomatic solution to the Iran nuclear deal, but said that prospects for reviving the agreement were "tenuous at best."
Al Jazeera
Also on Wed., the NYT reported that an intelligence official stated that Israel allegedly confirmed to the US it was behind the assassination of Hassan Sayyad Khodaei, a suspected senior member of the IRGC's Al-Quds Force.
nytimes

Sources Split

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The Spin

Pro-establishment narrative

As the world's leading state sponsor of terrorism, Tehran relies on the IRGC to destabilize the entire Middle East. Although the IRGC and its paramilitary arm, the Quds Force, have been subject to sanctions since 2007 even without their FTO designation, delisting them would send a fatal signal of weakness not only to the regime in Tehran, but also to the autocrats in China and Russia - with unforeseeable consequences for security and peace.

The Hill

Establishment-critical narrative

The FTO designation has little to no practical value and is mere tokenism. When Washington fears - as it has for years - that Iran is "just weeks" away from being able to build a nuclear weapon, reviving the nuclear agreement should be the highest US national security interest - not targeting the IRGC.