Page 8 - DMEA Week 16 2022

DMEA POLICY & SECURITY DMEA

Iran claims it rejected US

offers of sanctions removal

MIDDLE EAST IRAN has no plans to abandon its intention Killing the Iran Nuclear Deal”. Author Murtaza
to avenge the US assassination more than two Hussein contends: “To make sure the Iran deal
years ago of top Iranian general Qasem Soleim- wasn’t revived, Donald Trump introduced a poi-
ani despite “regular offers” from Washington son pill—but Biden is the one demanding Iran
to lift sanctions and provide other concessions swallow it.”
should it do so, an Iranian navy commander said As Hussein points out, the IRGC is far more
on April 21. than just a military organisation in Iran. It has
“The enemy keeps sending messages that a massive presence in the economy. Quite apart
if we give up on avenging Soleimani, they will from the fact that the continued FTO designa-
give us some concessions or lift some sanctions,” tion of the Guard wounds the pride of a nation
Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) that does not wish to see a major part of its mil-
Navy Commander Alireza Tangsiri said. “This itary listed in such a fashion, the sanction could
is pure fantasy. The Supreme Leader has empha- cause economic problems ahead, even should
sised the need for revenge and the Revolutionary the JCPOA be reinstated.
Guards’ top commander has said that revenge is Hussein quotes Hooman Majd, author of
inevitable and that we will choose the time and “The Ministry of Guidance Invites You to Not
place for it.” Stay, as saying: “When other sanctions were
When the drone-strike assassination in the placed on Iran in the 1990s, the IRGC became
vicinity of Baghdad Airport took place on the the de facto engineering arm of the Iranian gov-
order of then US president Donald Trump two ernment. Everything down to the international
years ago, there was shock among some legal airport in Tehran is run by the IRGC, and every
experts that in killing Soleimani—who was aspect of business in Iran has some connection
regarded as the second most powerful official to the IRGC or former members of the IRGC. If
in Iran and was seen as a national hero by many the IRGC is listed as a terrorist organisation, is
Iranians—the US had, in their eyes, crossed a red Boeing going to sell them planes?”
line with a clear breach of international law. Prior According to Reuters, asked about the Ira-
to the hit on Soleimani, Trump had already gone nian comments on avenging Soleimani, a US
after the IRGC by designating the elite corps as a State Department spokesperson said that if Iran
foreign terrorist organisation (FTO). wanted sanctions relief beyond the nuclear deal,
This move too drew surprise as never before it must address US concerns beyond the pact.
had Washington designated part of the armed However, the news agency reported that the
forces of a sovereign nation in this way. And, spokesperson did not specify what they meant,
as things have turned out, the designation has though appeared to be alluding to Tehran’s
proved to be a poison pill in the efforts of current demand that Washington drop the IRGC from
US President Joe Biden and his officials aimed its FTO list.
at resurrecting the 2015 nuclear deal, or JCPOA “If Iran wants sanctions lifting that goes
- the agreement that was drawn up to verifiably beyond the JCPOA, they will need to address
ensure that Iran’s nuclear programme remains concerns of ours beyond the JCPOA,” the
entirely civilian in return for the lifting of eco- spokesperson was cited as saying. “Conversely,
nomic sanctions. if they do not want to use these talks to resolve
While Iran, the US and five other major other bilateral issues beyond the JCPOA, then
powers—France, Germany, the UK, China and we are confident that we can very quickly reach
Russia—appeared on the verge of finding a path an understanding on the JCPOA and begin
to relaunching the JCPOA in March, talks in reimplementing the deal.”
Vienna got bogged down on Iran’s demand that “Iran needs to make a decision,” the spokes-
the US drop the IRGC, including its expedition- person added.™
ary Quds Force that Soleimani commanded,
from its FTO list.
If Biden is at all willing to compromise on the
FTO listing of the IRGC, he is yet to show that
is the case. Clearly there would be a big political
cost in making such a move in relation to a mili-
tary entity that supports US foes such as Hezbol-
lah in Lebanon.

‘Biden deserves blame’
On April 21, The Intercept published an article
headlined “Joe Biden Deserves the Blame for

P8 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 16 21•April•2022