The US told the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on Tuesday that Iran’s demands to lift sanctions off their Revolutionary Guards were behind the failure to revive the abandoned 2015 nuclear deal.
“We have made clear we stand ready to quickly implement a mutual return to the JCPOA. What we need is a willing partner in Iran. In particular, Iran would need to drop demands for sanctions lifting that clearly go beyond the JCPOA and that are now preventing us from concluding a deal,” the US said, referring to the nuclear deal by its technical name, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
Months of negotiations to revive the nuclear pact, under which Iran restricts its nuclear program in return for relief from economic sanctions, have stalled.
For the latest headlines, follow our Google News channel online or via the app.
In addition to lifting economic sanctions imposed on it under the deal, Tehran has demanded that its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) be removed from the US foreign terrorist organizations (FTO) blacklist.
The IRGC is a powerful military force in Iran that has a foreign espionage arm – the Quds Force – which Washington accuses of conducting a global terrorist campaign.
Many US lawmakers oppose removing the IRGC designation and have urged President Joe Biden against yielding to Iran’s demands.
Meanwhile, Tehran insists the fault lies with Washington for the delay in reaching an agreement, insisting on the removal of the IRGC terrorist designation, as well as a guarantee that no future US president would withdraw from the accord.
Read more:
Iran vows ‘immediate response’ to any Western move against it at IAEA
Iran to respond to any ‘unconstructive action’ at IAEA governors’ meeting
US-Europeans submit draft resolution criticizing Iran to IAEA Board
