The Pentagon's top general said Thursday he was opposed to removing the elite Quds Force of Iran's Revolutionary Guards from the US terror group list, one of Tehran's conditions for restoring the 2015 Iran nuclear agreement.

"In my personal opinion, I believe the IRGC Quds Force to be a terrorist organization, and I do not support them being delisted from the foreign terrorist organization list," Joint Chiefs Chairman General Mark Milley told a congressional hearing.

Iran has pressed for the removal of the State Department's official "Foreign Terrorist Organization" designation of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a condition for returning to the 2015 deal that sought to control its nuclear development and prevent it from acquiring a nuclear weapons capability.

The previous US administration of Donald Trump unilaterally abrogated the deal in 2018 and a year later slapped the FTO label on the Guards.

President Joe Biden has sought in negotiations to salvage the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA, as the 2015 deal is officially called.

But talks have stalled in the past month over a handful of final issues, including Iran's demand over the terror designation.

The talks are led by the State Department and Milley and the Pentagon are not directly involved.

It was not clear whether Milley was suggesting an alternative of keeping the Quds Force designated while dropping the broader Revolutionary Guards from the list.

In a statement on the original designation, the State Department said: "The IRGC -- most prominently through its Quds Force -- has the greatest role among Iran's actors in directing and carrying out a global terrorist campaign."

It singled out specific acts by the Quds Force, including attempted bombings and assassinations inside the United States and other countries.

Privately, US officials have said removing the terror designation would not have much concrete impact, because the IRGC remains under a long list of economic and political sanctions.

Related Links
Learn about nuclear weapons doctrine and defense at SpaceWar.com
Learn about missile defense at SpaceWar.com
All about missiles at SpaceWar.com
Learn about the Superpowers of the 21st Century at SpaceWar.com

Tweet

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only

Iran says it handed UN nuclear watchdog documents on undeclared sites
Tehran (AFP) April 6, 2022
Iran on Wednesday said it has sent documents on its undeclared nuclear facilities to the UN atomic watchdog, bringing it a step closer to reviving its 2015 nuclear accord. Iran has restricted some inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which had previously called on Tehran to resolve questions surrounding the previous presence of nuclear material at undeclared sites. "We provided on March 20 the documents that we had to send to the IAEA," said Mohammad Eslami, the head of ... read more