Marwa Shaheen - Beth:

Efforts to revive the 2015 nuclear deal now depend on the most politically sensitive issue in the negotiations, diplomats say, namely whether to remove the US designation of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist.

The terrorism of the Revolutionary Guards causes differences between allies:

This issue raises opposition within the parties to the nuclear agreement, particularly in Washington and its allies in the Middle East, where the government issued harsh public criticism of any attempt to remove the designation of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards as terrorist.

Senior US officials say failure to reach a compromise with Iran on the issue quickly could unravel the negotiations that for nearly a year resolved all other disagreements blocking the deal.

The United States accused the Revolutionary Guards of killing hundreds of Americans, while its Quds Force supplied weapons and support to Iranian arms throughout the region and to pro-Iranian groups that fought in Syria, especially the Lebanese Hezbollah, which is classified as terrorist, in addition to other militias such as the Iraqi Fatemiyoun, and the Zainabiyoun militia. Afghanistan, in addition to the Iraqi Hezbollah, and the Houthis in Yemen. The Revolutionary Guards have long faced US sanctions over their ballistic missile programs and alleged attempts to develop weapons of mass destruction.

The New Deal Could Save Energy Markets:

Many are counting on reaching a nuclear agreement with Iran, which may quickly reflect on the stability of energy markets, as the agreement may allow the return of Iranian oil supplies to energy markets, but despite the progress in the negotiations, which was confirmed by all parties, the American envoy to Iran said: “I am not confident He added that a lot of sanctions against Iran will continue despite the nuclear agreement.”

The US envoy said: “We are working with countries in the region to reduce tensions away from the nuclear agreement, but we cannot provide guarantees about what any future administration might do.”

The EU diplomat, led by Enrique Mora and Ali Bagheri, the chief Iranian negotiator, is scheduled to meet in Tehran, where he hopes to bridge the remaining gaps in the negotiations.

The European Union assumes the role of coordinator in the discussions aimed at re-establishing the agreement through Washington’s return to commitment again to the terms of the agreement and the lifting of 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 step.

Dropping the terrorist title from the leaders of the Revolutionary Guards, a basic Iranian demand:

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian said that the United States’ dropping the terrorist designation of the Revolutionary Guards is among the few outstanding issues in the talks for an agreement on Tehran’s nuclear program.

He stressed that Iran wants to drop the designation, despite the fact that the IRGC commanders requested that the issue not be an obstacle to the agreement if it guaranteed Tehran’s interests.

Amir Abdollahian said, “The issue of the Revolutionary Guards is, of course, part of our negotiations.” on the agenda.”

He stressed that a number of Guard officials have asked the Ministry of Foreign Affairs 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.

And he said that these officials sacrifice 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, but he said, “In addition to the 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.”

And the Iranian regime’s minister added that reaching an agreement on his country’s nuclear program could happen at any time if Washington adopted a realistic view of things, he said, noting that the issue of lifting sanctions on Tehran had not been fully settled.

But Abdullahian warned that Tehran’s readiness for what he described as a good, strong and stable agreement will not be at the expense of Iran’s red lines - according to him.

Amir Abdollahian’s statements came hours before the arrival of European Union diplomat Enrique Mora to Tehran, where he hopes to bridge the remaining gaps in the negotiations.

The Guard included former US President Donald Trump on this list in 2019, a year after his country withdrew from the nuclear agreement with major powers on Iran’s nuclear program, which was held with Iran and the five permanent members of the Security Council in addition to Germany during the era of the American president Former Barack Obama.

But US officials were more cautious in their assessment of efforts to revive the 2015 agreement, which limits Iran’s nuclear program in return for the lifting of economic sanctions imposed on it.

US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said Wednesday that the United States and its allies had made progress in the Iran nuclear talks, but that problems remained, and it was not clear if they would be resolved.

The talks in Vienna, in their latest round, came close to reaching an agreement when Russia made last-minute demands to the United States and insisted on guarantees that sanctions imposed on Moscow over its war on Ukraine would not harm its trade with Iran.

The United States excludes the removal of the Revolutionary Guards from the lists of terrorism:

In this context, the US special envoy for Iran affairs, Robert Malley, confirmed that the Iranian Revolutionary Guards will remain within the sanctions, and this is a different issue from the nuclear agreement.

Mali said: “We are holding consultations with friendly countries in the region, including Qatar and Oman, to make the nuclear agreement negotiations a success, and that our efforts in the region, and our quest to reduce tension in it, will continue even if the Vienna negotiations fail, considering that there is no change in Washington’s position on the nuclear agreement.” Because of the Russian war on Ukraine.

Mali said that no guarantees could be given about what any future US administration might do, noting that if a nuclear agreement was reached, it would be in accordance with the 5+1, including Russia, despite its war on Ukraine.