The top US general has stated that he does not favour the removal of Iran’s elite Quds Force off Washington’s list of “foreign terrorist organisations,” an apparent crucial demand from Tehran in order to resurrect the global nuclear agreement.

Mark Milley, speaking before the Senate Armed Services Committee on Thursday, stated that the Quds Force, a part of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), should not be delisted.
“I think the IRGC Quds Force is a terrorist organisation, and I do not support its delisting,” said Milley, chairman of the US military’s Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Earlier, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin had declined to answer the same issue. “Respectfully, I will not comment on ongoing discussions or speculate on what my advise to the president will be,” he told legislators.

Reviving the 2015 nuclear deal, which saw Iran cut back its nuclear development in exchange for sanctions relief, is a primary foreign policy objective for US President Joe Biden’s administration.

The decision to blacklist or delist organisations is made by the Department of State, which ultimately reports to the president.

As such, Milley’s remarks do not necessarily reflect the Biden administration’s policy, but they may fuel Republican resistance to any concessions that the US may provide Iran in order to reach a deal.

For weeks, European, Iranian, and US officials have claimed that an agreement is close at hand — but the IRGC problem looks to be the stumbling block.

Former US President Donald Trump cancelled the agreement in 2018 and launched a “maximum pressure” sanctions campaign against Iran. As a result, Iran has been easing its commitments to the pact while expanding its nuclear programme.

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