Against the backdrop of growing speculation that the chances of reviving the nuclear deal between Iran and the powers in the current round of talks in Vienna are mounting, the West is raising accusations against Iran for its insistence on removing the Revolutionary Guards from the US terrorist list without any tangible consideration.
The US initially offered Iran a commitment not to harm the Americans in the Middle East in exchange for removal, but it refused, and on Thursday the Biden administration revealed to Politico more details about the US proposals, but all of them were denied.
"The US position is that as long as Iran does not commit to certain security measures, ie separate from the nuclear deal, the US will not remove the organization from the list of terrorist organizations, a move that is not related to the nuclear deal in the first place," said a U.S. official. "Our position does not change, especially in light of the Revolutionary Guards' threats against the Americans," he added, adding that Iran is unwilling to give up its unruly activities in the region, including terrorism, for the nuclear deal.
Just this week, Secretary of State Anthony Blicken confirmed that there are threats against senior US officials, including former Iranian Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, apparently out of a desire to avenge the assassination of Quds Force commander Qassem Suleimani by the previous administration.
The source acknowledged that the Iranian refusal, along with opposition from both parties in Congress, was in fact blocking the removal of the organization from the list as part of the nuclear deal.
"There is a very low chance that we will remove the organization from the list as part of the talks," he said, but if Iran agrees to complete the nuclear deal without this condition, it will be possible to discuss the Revolutionary Guards in another framework.
The agreement, drafted between Iran and the powers, has been completed and is spread over 27 pages, but as stated, Iran is not ready to end the talks unless it receives a waiver from the US - which is not officially part of the talks - in the form of removing the Revolutionary Guards from the list.
"The agreement is hostage because of the bilateral dispute [between the US and Iran] that is unrelated to the nuclear or nuclear deal," a senior Western official told Politico.
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