He stressed that Iran wants to drop the designation, despite the fact that the commanders of the Guard requested that the issue not be an “obstacle” to the agreement if it guaranteed Tehran’s interests.
It is the first time that Tehran confirms that the request to remove the name of the Guard from the US list of “foreign terrorist organizations” is among the remaining issues in the discussions aimed at reinstating the nuclear agreement.
The Guard included former US President Donald Trump on this list in 2019, a year after he withdrew his country from the agreement with major powers over Iran’s program.
“The issue of the Revolutionary Guards is, of course, part of our negotiations,” Amir Abdollahian said.
He added in an interview with Iranian state television: “At the present time, the problem lies in some important outstanding issues between us and the United States,” noting that halving is “one of the issues that are still on the agenda.”
He stressed that a number of Guard officials asked the Foreign Ministry “to do what is necessary in line with the country’s national interests, and if we reach a point where the issue of the Revolutionary Guards is raised, the issue of the Revolutionary Guards should not be an obstacle to you.”
He explained that these officials are “sacrificing” by saying that “if you find that the country’s interest is preserved in the agreement, do not make the issue of the Revolutionary Guard a priority.”
However, he continued, “In addition to other points that are still outstanding (…) we will not allow ourselves to inform the United States that we are ready to abandon the issue of the Revolutionary Guards, despite the permission granted to us by senior officials” in it.
Iran and the powers still included in the 2015 agreement (France, Britain, Germany, Russia and China) have been in talks for nearly a year in Vienna, in which the United States, which withdrew unilaterally from it in 2018, indirectly participates.
Amir Abdollahian’s statements came hours before the expected arrival of European Union diplomat Enrique Mora to Tehran, where he hopes to “fill the gaps” remaining in the negotiations.
On Sunday, Mora is scheduled to meet Iran’s chief negotiator, Ali Bagheri, according to the official IRNA news agency.
The European Union assumes the role of coordinator in the discussions aimed at restoring the agreement by returning Washington to its board and lifting the sanctions that it re-imposed on Iran after its withdrawal, and the latter’s compliance again with all of its provisions after retracting many of them in response to the American move.
Those concerned announced that progress had been made in recent weeks that would bring an understanding soon, but they assert that points of disagreement remain that require “political decisions” from Tehran and Washington.
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