Iran has dropped its demand for the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) to be removed from the U.S. State Department’s list of foreign terrorist organizations, CNN reported.
The change came after Tehran was given a draft nuclear agreement by the E.U. earlier this week, the report said, citing a senior Biden administration official.
“The current version of the text, and what they are demanding, drops it,” the official was quoted as saying. “So if we are closer to a deal, that’s why.”
Tehran also dropped its demand for the several IRGC-linked companies to be dropped from the list, the official added.
According to another official, while a deal was “closer than it was two weeks ago, the outcome [is] uncertain as some gaps remain. President Joe Biden will only approve a deal that meets our national security interests,” the report said.
Biden finalized his decision to keep the IRGC on the FTO list in April, and subsequently informed then-Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett of his decision during a phone call, Politico reported.
“I commend the U.S. administration, led by my friend President Joe Biden, on the decision to keep the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in their rightful place—on the Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTO) list,” Bennett said.
According to Al Jazeera Arabic, the latest European proposal draft to revive the 2015 nuclear agreement is gaining broad agreement from both Iran and Western countries.
Israel has remained a steadfast opponent of the deal, with Prime Minister Yair Lapid telling the White House on Thursday to walk away from the talks, according to Axios.
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